Ed Sheeran: I won’t write for One Direction again soon

Ed Sheeran won't be writing new tunes for One Direction's new album because "they can kind of do their own thing" now.

The 24-year-old The A Team singer penned several tracks for the British boyband, including Little Things and Over Again for their 2012 LP Take Me Home and tune 18, which appears on 2014 release Four.

But ahead of One Direction's forthcoming album Made in the A.M., Ed has revealed his songwriting duties are over for the band.

"They've gotten to a point where they know how to write songs," he told MTV News. "Harry was 16 when I first met him…but now he's 21 and has written with everyone in the world and learned how to write songs, so they don't really need as much help anymore. They can kind of do their own thing."

Ed claims writing for One Direction has been an organic experience for him in the past.

He had a toilet breakthrough with 18, as Ed just knew the song was perfect for them.

"I was in Denmark and I wrote it in my hotel bathroom and I was like, 'This sounds like a One Direction song," he recalled.

"And I emailed it to them, and they were like, 'I really like it,' so it wasn't even me having to write a song. It was just like, I'll see what they think."

Ed has a number of other exciting professional opportunities on the go right now, as he is currently preparing to co-host the MTV European Music Awards in Milan, Italy with Orange is the New Black actress Ruby Rose in October (15).

Redhead Ed could have a busy night as he is also nominated for the Best Male and Best Live Act awards at the event.

Both Ed and Ruby have a difficult act to follow, as the 2014 ceremony, which was hosted by Nicki Minaj, was "most widely distributed show in MTV EMA history" after getting a 17% increase in ratings.