ED SHEERAN has set the record straight amid fears for his marriage – insisting he just wanted to put out honest music.
The chart-topper, who headlined the first night of Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball with Barclaycard at The O2, sparked concern with brutally candid album tracks.
His deluxe edition of Play dealt with juggling life as a superstar and dad of two.
At a Spotify pop-up ahead of the ball, Ed said: “Sometimes people listen to records today and assume that what that song is, is their world 100 per cent at the time.
“It’s very much like heightened emotions. You never write a song on a ‘meh’ day.
“You always write songs like, ‘This is the most loving I’ve ever felt, this is the happiest I’ve ever felt, this is the angriest I’ve ever felt’.
“They’re all like big extremities and that’s what inspires the song.
“And then that’s where the song exists and that’s why people connect to the song as people have these big feelings.
“I think the only time the songs will ever be created, for me at least, are in those moments of big extremes.”
During his set on Saturday night, Ed paid tribute to Cherry after adding the Play album track Heaven to his performance — because it’s her favourite.
Ed told the packed London crowd: “I told Cherry I was singing this tonight and she told me to make sure that someone filmed it.”
He added: “I think Cherry knows that she has songs like Heaven and Perfect.
“It’s good to be honest, and she knows that I am writing songs like Don’t Look Down and Wargames.”
CELEBRITIES joined crowds at the South London venue to watch Ed headline night one of the weekend music spectacular.
We spotted famous faces including Fifty Shades actor Jamie Dornan, ex-footballer Peter Crouch and former PM Rishi Sunak.
Rishi previously outed himself as a huge Taylor Swift fan. But given how much he was jiggling his hips, he didn’t seem to miss her too much.
LEIGH-ANNE GOES DEEP PURPLE
LEIGH-ANNE PINNOCK stole the style show at the Jingle Bell Ball with these incredible feathered trousers.
In an all-purple outfit, The former Little Mix singer nailed her five-song set, with a mash-up of the group’s Sweet Melody, Touch and Power.
She finished the night with her highest-charting single, Don’t Say Love, and had every Mixer in the O2 Arena up on their feet.
Bravo, Leigh-Anne. That was a show to remember.
WHAM! STILL KYLIE’S No1
KYLIE MINOGUE is a hot contender for the festive No1 – but wouldn’t mind being pipped to the post by Andrew Ridgeley and the late, great George Michael.
She is already at No5 in the Official Charts this Friday with new track Xmas.
The bookies told us it’s a two-horse race between Kylie’s release and Wham!’s 1984 banger Last Christmas.
In an exclusive chat ahead of her headline slot last night, the Aussie star said it was her favourite festive song, adding: “Last Christmas – it’s always a classic.”
Kylie is heading back home to celebrate the festive season with family, including her sister Dannii.
But her tree might not win any prizes for style, as she told Bizarre’s Jack: “Maybe the initial concept is tasteful but it can very easily just become ‘that’s it’. Look, it’s got personality.”
Kylie, pictured with our Jack, decorates her tree with second-hand finds.
She said: “I tend to have a collection of decorations, a lot of proper vintage ones. I don’t know their history but I just know I have had them for a long time.”
MOBLAND TOM IS HEL
TOM HARDY is annoying acting royalty Dame Helen Mirren on the set of Mobland.
It has been revealed Tom’s poor time-keeping, and attitude, have been rubbing her up the wrong way.
Insiders claim Tom, who plays gangster Harry Da Souza, “swaggers around like he’s the king” on set of the Paramount+ show.
Helen actually played the Queen, so if anyone should be swanning around like royalty, it’s her.
Shame on you, Tom.
MUTYA’S £15K ON TAXI RIDES
MUTYA BUENA says being in a girlband is not as fun as people think – and that her spending got out of control.
The Sugababes singer writes in her autobiography Real Girl: “Some of the adults we dealt with cared more about our worth than our wellbeing.
“As long as we were making money for them, they couldn’t give two s**ts about what was going on in our heads or our hearts as children.”
Mutya was in the original line-up with Keisha Buchanan and Siobhan Donaghy. She said pressures led to her spending money like water, including £15,000 on taxis after getting mates to join her partying.
She added: “I went all out, chasing as much fun as I could find, trying to make up for the youth I was missing out on.”
ROBERT NEW TRUST PILOT
THE CURE’s Robert Smith is stepping into Roger Daltrey’s shoes as the “Cureator” of next year’s concerts for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
The Who legend stepped down after 24 years and now Robert has announced his first the line-up.
They begin at the Royal Albert Hall on Monday, March 23. Kicking off the week are Elbow and MRCY, followed by comedy the next night from Jack Dee, Maisie Adam and Dara O Briain.
For the Wednesday, Robert has Mogwai to headline, with Manic Street Preachers the next evening. They will be there alongside The Joy Formidable, who mark their 150th show for the trust.
My Bloody Valentine and Chvrches appear on the Friday, with Garbage headlining Saturday, along with Placebo.
The final Sunday concert will see Wolf Alice performing.
Tickets go on sale at 9am this Friday and Robert, left, said: “I wanted to make it a truly unforgettable, unmissable week.”
HAIR-OBSESSED JORDAN IS ‘BIGGEST DIVA AT O2’
IF you ask Capital FM presenters Sian Welby and Chris Stark, the biggest diva at the O2 this weekend wasn’t actually a singer . . .
Speaking to us backstage, the pair said their Breakfast co-host Jordan North can be the most high maintenance.
Asked who is the most demanding star, Sian said with a laugh: “Oh, no question, it’s Jordan North.
“First of all, the conversation about his hair will be going on for a month.”
Chris added: “I spend my life having to entertain and witness conversations about Jordan being self conscious about his hair.
“I know he’s specifically asked for slightly higher heels on his trainers as he always has to be taller than me.”
Sian continued: “But he’s a good diva, in the nicest way.
“If you see him in the street, just give him a wink and a nod and say, ‘Your hair looks all right mate’.”
Smiling, Chris added: “On a serious note, he is a diva but only in character.
“He is the most down-to-earth, kind and considerate person, which is mega really, when you consider how well he is doing.
“You cannot fake what this show is and I have been in situations where you get involved and you are forced with people – and you can tell.
“But this is the first time since I was with Scott Mills at Radio 1 where I honestly feel so excited and happy about where the show is going.”
