Ed Sheeran gives the sweetest advice to seven-year-old Kiwi: 'Embrace your individuality'

Ed Sheeran is a music icon and for one Kiwi kid, he’s a hero.

So when Jono and Ben weren’t able to get down to Wellington to interview the British singer-songwriter, they decided to send his biggest fan, seven-year-old, Graeson Gouldsmith instead to ask one important question.

The young Kiwi – who happens to look "like a mini version of Ed Sheeran" – asked the Shape Of You singer a very poignant question.

"Hi, my name is Graeson and I am seven and Jono and Ben have sent me here from The Hits to interview you. What advice would you give to a seven-year-old to be like you?” Graeson bravely asked the star during the media conference before Ed’s sold-out Wellington show.

And Ed’s reply was nothing short of perfect!

“Be like you,” Ed answered, “I think that no one can be you better than you. If you try and be like someone else, you'll always be sort of like half as good as they can be, whereas you, you're the best person that you can be.”

“When I found when I started making music, I was trying to sound like all these other artists that I loved and then that slowly forms your own sound and you just become your own person. 

“I'd say embrace your individuality,” Ed continued. “If there's something weird and quirky about you, that's actually something that's good. You know when you're in school and people think that you're different like, it’s good to be different. 

“All the best people in the world that have had success are all different from each other. People will always try and emulate what has become successful beforehand

“When I was trying to get signed everyone was like, ‘You're not what we're looking for’ and then I got big and then suddenly I am what people are looking for. So don't follow the trend.”

What an amazing answer – with some really great advice!

Listen to Graeson’s epic moment with Ed Sheeran as well as Jono and Ben’s debrief with his mum Zoe above.

And he shared a message to Kiwis affected by the flooding after last week’s torrential rain event.

“I think it’s been horrendous, and my heart goes out to everyone — I’m so sorry that that’s happened; I know that they’re trying their best to make the show happen.”

A spokesperson for Eden Park told the Herald today, “Like many parts of Auckland, Eden Park has been impacted by surface water as a result of the extreme weather in the region.

“However, our team are 100 per cent focused on delivering our upcoming calendar of events.”

- The Hits