Antisocial
by Ed Sheeran (featuring Travis Scott)

Album: No. 6 Collaborations Project (2019)
Charted: 37
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This collaboration with Travis Scott is a trap-pop tune in which the two artists maintain they want to be left alone. Ed Sheeran kicks off the track with a warning not to disturb him when he's out on the town:

    When I touch down, keep it on the low-low
    I don't mess with your energy (Nah), no photos


    Scott also declares that he needs space:

    I need room, I need room
    Where you standin' way too close


    Sheeran and Scott's "antisocial" personalities are because of their celebrity status; they just want to keep their lives private.
  • Speaking to UK newspaper The Sun, Sheeran explained that he suffers from crippling social anxiety.

    "I don't like large groups of people, which is ironic given I play shows to thousands of people," he said. "I feel claustrophobic and I don't like being around many people. I have no problem with talking to people, but it's when people film me and stare at me. It makes me feel weird."

    "It makes me feel like I'm not human," Sheeran continued. "If you want to come up to me and have a conversation with me, even if we've never met, just come up. But what instantly cuts me off is that you're having a moment with them which is so genuine and so nice and then at the end they ask for a picture."

    He added: "If I am eating in a restaurant now, I would prefer to have a private room because if I eat in the public room I have people filming me while I'm eating my food. You feel like a zoo animal. I don't mean to complain, I have a cool job and life. But I just want to avoid that."
  • The song was created by Sheeran and Scott in the fall of 2018. It was first teased via an Instagram post by engineer Tre Nagella on October 31, 2018.
  • The Dave Meyers-directed video pops Sheeran and Scott into the sets of a number of classic movies. Among the films it pays homage to are The Mask, Edward Scissorhands, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, The Martian, Snatch, Office Space and The Birds. The visual finishes off with an extended tribute to Pulp Fiction.
  • Ed Sheeran and Travis Scott performed "Antisocial" live for the first time on July 16, 2019. The Texan rapper surprised fans attending his one-off show at London's O2 Arena by bringing the English pop star on stage for a rendition of the song.
  • Hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash gets a credit as the song incorporates a vocal from one of his live performance/DJ sets.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Dar Williams

Dar WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.

Def Leppard Quiz

Def Leppard QuizMusic Quiz

Can you name Def Leppard's only #1 hit in America? Get rocked with this adrenalized quiz.

Intentionally Atrocious

Intentionally AtrociousSong Writing

A selection of songs made to be terrible - some clearly achieved that goal.

Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins

Tom Bailey of Thompson TwinsSongwriter Interviews

Tom stopped performing Thompson Twins songs in 1987, in part because of their personal nature: "Hold Me Now" came after an argument with his bandmate/girlfriend Alannah Currie.

Dan Reed

Dan ReedSongwriter Interviews

Dan cracked the Top 40 with "Ritual," then went to India and spent 2 hours with the Dalai Lama.

Meshell Ndegeocello

Meshell NdegeocelloSongwriter Interviews

Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.