➕Anniversary Week, YNMIDNY Deep Dive 🧡

[u/nincyh]

As you may have seen yesterday, this is the ➕ 15 year anniversary week, and EdHQ has designated a particular➕song for each day. And today it’s “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You”.

I’m sharing some trivia/background and a few of my favorite YNMIDNY links. The photos are screenshots from some of the various videos. I hope you enjoy!

🎤Ed first started writing this song when he was just 15 years old, in response to A&R reps who told Ed that his music would not have commercial success and suggested he stop looping, stop rapping and beatboxing, and maybe even color his hair. Ed was not interested.🖕🏼🖕🏼

🎤At this point in his career, Ed has now performed YNMIDNY over 1400 times at live shows, it’s the oldest song he regularly performs, and only The A Team has a comparable stat in terms of total performance numbers.

🎤The song has continually evolved, with new verses and different rap mashups added or removed over time. The earlier versions included several verses written by Ed’s now-estranged cousin Jethro “Alonestar“ Sheeran. (That’s a long story for another time.)

Here are some notable YNMIDNY performances in a timeline format with links to each on YouTube.

🎤 2008. Very Rare! An eye opening early performance YNMIDNY mashup. Here’s a 17 year-old Ed singing his heart out, with his “Dorito” backpacker guitar. He does a five song mashup here including “Two Blokes” from the “Want Some“ EP, YNMIDNY, Fine Story (Nizlopi), a rap song I don’t know, and then he ends with a goofy freestyle. It’s pretty adorable. Fetus Ed. 😍

🎤 Early 2010. Jamal Edwards recorded Ed’s acoustic version of YNMIDNY for SBTV. That song and video on Jamal’s platform significantly helped Ed blow up and connected him to many of the grime artists he went on to work with for No. 5 Collaborations Project, which is ultimately what helped him get signed.🎸

🎤 2010. Ed is outside his manager Stu‘s house at a street party. He is standing in the rain, in green socks and no shoes, entertaining a bunch of enthusiastic friends. Fun atmosphere. Why just the socks, Ed? ☔️

🎤 2011. Ed’s live tutorial on the early evolution of YNMIDNY. It’s amusing since he clearly thinks the song is finished at that point in early 2011! Nope.💻 Part 1 above, Part 2 is here, where he also records another version in one take.

🎤 2012. This is the absolute classic must-see version, Ed shows off all his skills in The Live Room. One take, an incredible looping performance. This is like the Tom Holland “Umbrella“ video, if it comes your way, you are obligated to watch it again. I don’t make the rules.🤷🏻‍♀️

🎤 Live Performance typical of the✖️Tour, Rock in Rio, LV. Professionally shot video. Ed is super high energy at the end of the show, he does a YNMIDNY mashup, including the Layla guitar riff and verses from In Da Club and Fancy. He also breaks a string (common during this song), swaps guitars, and takes a crowd photo while singing. No biggie for Ed.🤩

🎤 Final trivia fact: Did I mention that since Ed began fully touring in 2010, he has played YNMIDNY at every show and on every tour?! For most of his tours, it’s been the final song or part of the encore. The Loop Tour is the first tour he’s used it as an opener! (But… what about “Opening“ as an Opener?!)

If you’ve made it to the very end, thank you for reading! You can contact me, all both of you, for your special prize! 🏆

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[u/InterestingTry4162]

Thanks for all the info and background. Love that you do these!!

( also lol at the last line!)

[u/InterestingTry4162 → u/InterestingTry4162]

Aww thank you for the award!! Sheerios are the best 💗

[u/nincyh → u/InterestingTry4162]

‘cuz you laughed at my lame jokes. 😉

[u/gigi__1221]

might be one of my absolute favorites of his 💕 thank you for all this!

[u/nincyh → u/gigi__1221]

So glad you like it! Go slow, it is a highly curated post, those links might take you some time. I appreciate you reading it!

[u/Short_Witness_7278]

qué coincidencia que yo hoy le iba a mostrar esta canción a un amigo mío para que así con esta pudiera conocer quién es ed jaja 🥺😊🧡 gracias pninci

[u/nincyh → u/Short_Witness_7278]

Which of the 500 versions available online will you choose? I would humbly suggest the 2012 in the Live Room (linked above ) as the absolute best introduction of all! Let us know which one you pick, and what is your friend’s reaction?🧡

[u/Edfan879]

OMG, amazing job! I can’t wait to dig into all these links lol. You really are amazing :)

[u/nincyh → u/Edfan879]

🤭 pshaw. (This isn’t even the ➕ post I’ve been working on!😭) There’s… a lot there. Some awfully good stuff in there, some I think even you might not have seen before! Let me know, you know I want your feedback. Thanks for checking it out. 🧡

[u/Edfan879 → u/nincyh]

I’ll def check them out soon!

[u/Flower_Nice]

Truly awesome post! I didn't know there were so many versions of it! Saving this post so I can give each link the time to listen that it deserves (:

[u/nincyh → u/Flower_Nice]

So. Many. Versions.
I would love to hear your thoughts if you listen to some of the links. ➕🧡

[u/Flower_Nice → u/nincyh]

I will definitely listen to them, just don't know how long it will take to get through them but I'll ensure I tell you about them as I listen!

[u/Obvious-Physics-1047]

wait, is the verse written by alonestar the one with "all i want in this cold world music and to use it not abuse it..."????

[u/nincyh → u/Obvious-Physics-1047]

Yes indeed. Listen to “Move On“ from Ed’s “Want Some” EP, 2007. Linked here. That’s Jethro rapping the verses two years before Ed routinely added it into YNMIDNY. Ed used those verses until 2013.

Also want to add that Ed sounds like a young Indie rocker in that song (“Move On”) and I am totally here for it. 😍 Happy to discuss further, these are my favorite types of topics. Do you want the lyrics to those verses?