Ed Sheeran was all smiles at The Desolation Of Smaug’s world premiere in Los Angeles on Monday night, when he posed for photographers at the black carpet.
The Irish ballad singer penned and performed the main song for the film, after being tapped by director Peter Jackson, who brought him on location to New Zealand so he could get a feel for what they were doing over there.
But it wasn’t as simple as it appears, according to Ed Sheeran who titled his piece I See Fire .
The original song appears at the end of the film, while the credits scroll across the screen following what is the end of the second installment in the trilogy.
Speaking to Press Association during the film’s world premiere on Monday night , Ed Sheeran says it took him a while to focus on what Peter Jackson had asked him to create.
“I was in a very weird state at the time, I was at a wedding at 4 am in Ibiza and at that time your mind isn’t piecing stuff together as it should be, but in the morning when I was sober I was running around telling everybody.”
But for the 22-year-old, this enterprise was unlike anything he had done before in his young, but stellar career.
“Every single song I have written has come from a personal experience and I’m not a dwarf yet so writing a song from a dwarf perspective in a land of dragons and wizards was a different way of approaching things.
“I wasn’t channeling a dwarf in myself but watching the film and thinking if I was that dude what would I be thinking.
“I instantly wrote the song off my reaction from watching the film. I didn’t really know how to approach it, Peter Jackson said he wanted a folk song so I was trying to go in that direction but I am mostly known for songs that wouldn’t fit in a Hobbit film.”
Peter Jakcson credits his daughter, Katie, who accompanied him last night at the premiere, for introducing him to Ed Sheeran’s music and discovering the red-head is a huge fan of his films.
It’s always tricky to think of the right person to create and perform these songs. Someone who shares our passion for Tolkien, and somebody who is prepared to respect the film.
This year we are thrilled to have Ed Sheeran write and perform our closing song, ‘I See Fire’”.
Watch Ed Sheeran perform “I See Fire” for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug , coming to theaters on December 13.