Ed Sheeran Reflects on What He Liked About Being an ‘American Idol’ Judge

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Ed Sheeran has won four Grammy Awards. He’s also recently released his sixth studio album. He’s experienced a lot of milestones in the music industry and he crossed another of during the May 7 episode of “American Idol” in which he was able to be a guest judge.

Sheeran joined Alanis Morissette in filling in for Lionel Richie and Katy Perry as the two mainstay judges were in England on May 6 for the coronation ceremony of King Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla. During the episode, Sheeran also opened up his song collection to the Top 8 as they split into four duets and took on one of his songs. Their individual performances saw them perform one of Morissete’s.

The 32-year-old appeared on “On Air With Ryan Seacrest” on May 8 where the “American Idol” began the show by asking him what his experience as a fill-in judge was like. Sheeran shared what stood out the most to him.

Ed Sheeran Enjoyed Sitting in a Judge’s Chair

Sheeran said how this was such a new experience for him despite having prior moments in the past with other talent shows. These include his audition in 2008 for a short-lived TV show called “Britannia High” as well as performaning on Britain’s Got Talent, including sharing the stage with Taylor Swift in June 2013. His time on “American Idol” was different for one reason.

“Yesterday was really cool for me, man, I’ve never actually sat in a judge’s chair on television, I’ve played the shows on talent shows before… but I’ve never actually sat in a judge’s chair,” Sheeran said. “It was really nice.”

He said the closest he’s come to that was during soundchecks of his past experiences on television shows where he would go and take a photo while sitting in a judge’s seat.

Ed Sheeran Says It’s ‘Lovely’ Watching Contestants Cover His Music

ABC/Eric McCandlessEd Sheeran was a fill-in judge on “American Idol” along with Alanis Morissette.

Continuing on in the interview, Sheeran talked about how he doesn’t frequently listen to his music even though he plays those songs “every weekend when I play shows.” As he said during the episode, Sheeran enjoyed sitting back and watching the four duets shine a different light on his songs. The four songs were “Thinking Out Loud” with Zachariah Smith and Haven Madison, “Photograph” by Iam Tongi and Oliver Steele, “Perfect” by Warren Peay and Wé Ani, and “Dive” by Colin Stough and Megan Danielle.

“Seeing people cover them is so lovely because people always have a different take and spin on it,” he said in the interview.

During the episode following Stough and Danielle’s take on “Dive,” Sheeran spoke to the honor of seeing these singers, particularly this pair and their country take on his song, add their unique spins to his work.

“I feel like this is such a privilege for me just sitting here and listening to you guys do my song really, really well,” he said.

Before moving onto a new subject in his interview with Seacrest, Sheeran pointed out how young the contestants are. The youngest among the Top 8 was Madison at 16 years old. She, along with Steele and Peay were the three who did not advance, but Sheeran said any of those three could “come off, heads held high, and walk straight into a career.” He called “American Idol” a “great launch pad” noting that there are “23 million people” votes coming in which speaks to the reach of the competition.

“American Idol” will return on May 14 as the Top 5 take part in Disney Week which also features a trip to Disneyland.