Niall Horan had a special surprise up his sleeve during the Friday 23rd August concert in Dublin – a duet with Ed Sheeran.
“Can you give me a good friend and a good Ed Sheeran,” Horan, 30, told the audience on Friday, per a video clip shared via his social media page. “Let’s get nostalgic (and play) a song this guy wrote.”
Horan was talking about “Little Things,” a 2012 song made famous by former band One Direction.
While the duet was seen as a sweet moment between friends, ardent fans knew they also encountered bad blood in the rearview mirror.
Sheeran, 33, wrote One Direction’s “Little Things” with Fiona Bevanwho previously told Song Magazine in 2019 that the “50/50” collaboration actually came from his initial idea. The Grammy nominee went on to write the 1D songs “Moments,” “Over Again” and “18” as a personal bond with band members Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Liam Payne deepened.
After years of post-1D friendship, Sheeran and Horan were caught in a love triangle, ten years ago now, with a fellow singer. Ellie Goulding which inspired a visible revenge anthem.
Sheeran dated Goulding, now 37, for the first time, once confirming that they were an item when they were seen holding hands at the 2013 MTV Music Video Awards. While it is unknown when they broke up, Sheeran’s “Don’t” next year appears to allege that Goulding cheated with Horan.
“I never saw him as a threat / Until you disappeared with him to have sex, of course,” Sheeran sings. “It’s not like we’re both on tour / We’re staying on the same f–king hotel floor / And I’m not looking for promises or commitment / But it’s not just fun, and I think you’re different.”
Neither Sheeran nor Horan have even talked about a love triangle, but Goulding has denied infidelity.
After a fan questioned his loyalty in a 2023 TikTok comment, he clapped back at Sheeran for cheating on him with Horan.
“Fake,” he commented. “But it also kills.”
Everything looks like water under the bridge. After their “Little Things” duet on Friday, Horan and Sheeran then performed an acoustic rendition of Sheeran’s “Lego House.”
“Thank you @teddysphotos for coming out to play with me tonight in Dublin. Another great memory,” Horan wrote in an Instagram post.
Sheeran, who wears Horan The Show Live on Tour merch, even joining the Irishman backstage for a special post-show celebration.
“Ed and I are backstage and we’re gonna try to break up the G,” Horan wrote in an Instagram video Saturday, Aug. 24. “For those who don’t know what a split G is, you have to take one to two sips or more (of a pint of Guinness beer) and put this black and white line in the gap in the letter G. (cup logo).”
Sheeran, who is originally from England, thought he had a “pretty good” effort.
“You really nailed it,” Horan gushed. “I didn’t get close. He’s more Irish than we are! He’s the least Irish I’ve ever met.”
Sheeran is now married to a former classmate Cherry Seaborn and they show two women, while Horan has been in a relationship for a long time Amelia Moon. Goulding, meanwhile, shares a son with her ex-husband Caspar Jopling.