Ed Sheeran Wasn't as Thrilled as He Looked at VMAs

Singer says award shows are 'horrible'
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 15, 2021 9:55 AM CDT
Ed Sheeran Wasn't as Thrilled as He Looked at VMAs
Ed Sheeran arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards at Barclays Center on Sunday in New York.   (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Ed Sheeran has won Grammys, VMAs, Billboard Music Awards, BRIT Awards, and more, so if you think the singer was thrilled to once again show up at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, well, maybe not. The singer said in an interview that British award shows aren't too bad, as "everyone gets drunk and no one really cares who wins or loses, it's just sort of a good night out," per the BBC. Americans are apparently a little more competitive—and vicious. "The room is filled with resentment and hatred towards everyone else and it's quite an uncomfortable atmosphere," he said of awards ceremonies. "It's just lots of people wanting other people to fail."

The Guardian notes those "lots of people" aren't so much the musicians in Sheeran's telling. "All the artists are sweet people," he continued, "but they're surrounded by entourages that want them to win too, so it's one artist surrounded by 10 people and another artist surrounded by 10 people and everyone is kind of giving each other the side-eye." He says he has shared his feelings with other artists, and they've echoed feeling really depressed and bummed out afterward. A bummer of a quote: "It's a really, really horrible atmosphere to be in there. I always walk away feeling sad, and I don't like it." (More Ed Sheeran stories.)

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