‘Dare to Suck:’ Ed Sheeran Shares Candid Career Advice with Songwriting Students

Grammy winner shares his journey from empty rooms to sold-out arenas, emphasizing authenticity, resilience and the courage to fail

In an intimate room with 30 Curb College songwriting students, global superstar Ed Sheeran offered something far more valuable than his chart-topping hits — he shared his failures, struggles and the unglamorous truth behind his rise to stardom. The Grammy-winning artist visited Belmont for a once-in-a-lifetime Q&A session moderated by songwriting co-chair Drew Ramsey, revealing the philosophy that has guided his career: “dare to suck.”

The phrase, which Sheeran learned from Swedish producer and songwriter Max Martin, has anchored his career, serving as a north star and reminding him to take risks and keep creating.

“I walk in [to the studio] and the first thing I say is ‘dare to suck’," he said. "This might suck; it might be good. If it sucks, no one has to hear it, we scrap it, it just doesn't exist. But if it is good and great, you keep it."

After rich conversation, Sheeran played a to-be-released song off his upcoming album and in return, shared the stage with five of Belmont’s aspiring songwriters: Silas Brown, Ella Maddux, Rory Lundquist, Brooke Wheeler and Thomas Baldwin. To close out the unforgettable night, students Tessa Dalton, Gabe Zinser, Sadie Wilkie, Alex Haldane and Eli Wilkie of Belmont’s Bluegrass Ensemble had an impromptu jam where they played a rootsy version of “Shape of You,” with Sheeran joining in.

From Struggling Musician to Global Superstar

Sheeran’s career began quietly, playing wedding gigs and open mic nights. He knew early on that music was the only option and pushed ahead without a plan B. As a teenager, he earned £50 playing weddings each weekend, totaling 200 quid per month –– modest earnings that still convinced him he could make a living doing what he loved.

“I think having that mindset of not really worrying about the embarrassment of it — I was never embarrassed playing shows with no one turning up to, because I saw it as practice,” said Sheeran. “Like you learn how to play to an empty room, and you learn how to play for two people. I used to do folk clubs, jam nights, comedy nights.”

He looks back, and though it seems tough now, at the time, it wasn’t. “I was just doing music every single day, and the struggle didn’t feel like a struggle. It was a blessing to be doing music and not working a normal job.”

Sheeran emphasized quantity over perfectionism in his songwriting process, writing dozens of songs each week. His No. 1 song “Shape of You” was the fifth song he wrote that day. “Songs like ‘Perfect’ and ‘Thinking Out Loud’ and ‘Shape of You’ needed many, many, many songs to get to that point,” he shared. “The other four [that day] weren’t good, but I realized those four had to get written and fall flat to get there.”

This approach to creativity extended beyond the writing room and studio. Sheeran described how playing open mic nights early in his career shaped his writing, as the brutal environment forced immediate improvement.

"People just talk over you, so either you're grabbing their attention with an amazing song or they're not listening to you. So, you're at home, and you write a song, and then you play it that night, and it bombs. Then you go, 'Cool, I'll go home and write another.'"

Advice for Aspiring Musicians

For the aspiring writers and artists in the room, Sheeran’s most emphatic advice centered on authenticity. He cautioned against chasing trends that feel unnatural, noting how fans can easily detect artificiality.

"As an artist, always have a rudder where you're like, 'This is me, and I'm not going here, and I'm not going there,'" he advised. "If you do something you don't truly believe in and it works, great. But if it doesn't work, you feel [terrible] because you compromised yourself."

As his career has evolved, Sheeran has expanded beyond performing — writing for artists like One Direction and Justin Bieber and establishing Gingerbread Man Records to support artists he believes in, including Foy Vance and Maisie Peters. "Eventually, the star fades for everyone, and people [fans] take a step back," he reflected. "Songwriting is the thing where the star never fades — you can always write songs.”

Sheeran referenced Elton John's discography as a model when discussing career longevity. "It's an interesting read because it's like number one, number one, number one, number 12, number 76. And then a decade of nothing. Literally, a decade where nothing works, and then number one, number one, “Lion King,” number one... That's a career. A career isn't just an upward trajectory the whole time."

The session concluded with Sheeran reflecting on the value of failure. "The first time I had a song flop was actually my favorite fail because I went through probably five years of my career with everything working... Having that first flop and then feeling that disappointment, you appreciate it again when the next thing works."

For songwriting students, the evening provided more than industry insights — it offered a blueprint for navigating the creative life with resilience, authenticity, and the courage to sometimes “dare to suck.”

Photos by Mark Surridge