Anne-Marie’s “2002” was one of the top tunes of 2018.
The hit reached number three on the UK Singles Chart and was a summer anthem for most of us—but it’s a lesser-known fact that Anne-Marie actually wrote the song in collaboration with Ed Sheeran.
Although the ginger-haired pop legend, famous for his acoustic love songs, doesn’t feature as an artist in the tune, Sheeran still managed a live performance of “2002” with Anne-Marie herself on a video created especially for YouTube.
Sitting in a surprisingly normal room with a half-drunk bottle of Diet Coke in the background and Anne-Marie at his side, Sheeran introduces the video with adorable bashfulness.
Anne-Marie, on the other hand, looks right at home on camera—and even gives Sheeran a cheeky punch in the side before he counts them in!
Sheeran begins to strum on his guitar and we soon realize that this is no normal live performance.
It’s clear that Sheeran and Anne-Marie aren’t aiming for perfection. They’re here to have fun! Anne-Marie’s singing voice is beautiful—made more so in real life, and we love the way she plays around as the song progresses. We can tell she has a friendly relationship with Sheeran by the way she grins at him, giggling when she pulls off the high notes.
As the chorus kicks in, Sheeran starts to sing, too.
While his gaze stays mostly on his guitar, he still manages to have a giggle with his female co-writer. It’s pretty hilarious when he sings, “Now we’re under the covers,” which makes Anne-Marie say, “Oh?” with a raised eyebrow, making them both snicker like little kids.
The pair harmonize together perfectly, and Anne-Marie handles her high notes like a pro!
We’re big fans of the original hit, but hearing it played more casually on Sheeran’s acoustic guitar is a refreshing take on the popular tune.
“2002” is based on a romance that Anne-Marie had when she was young. She never even planned to release the song as a single, but after some nagging by Sheeran, she eventually caved! Aside from Sheeran, there were three other producers involved in writing the hit: Benny Blanco, Julia Michaels and Steve Mac.
What makes the song special is its references to Anne-Marie’s favorite hits from the year 2002.
The chorus has lyrics like:
“Oops, I got 99 problems singing ‘bye, bye, bye’/ Hold up, if you wanna go and take a ride with me/ Better hit me, baby, one more time.”
Each of these links to throwback songs from Nelly, Britney Spears, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z and NSYNC. Clever!
We can tell from the lyrics that Anne-Marie was the life and soul of the party, even at a young age.
She certainly lives up to her image in her video with Sheeran, adding her own creative twist to her singing style, bopping about in her seat, clapping along, and even slapping Ed’s leg at the end!
It’s always enjoyable to get a taster of the real personalities of pop stars that we’re so used to seeing looking so poised and professional.
We certainly love Sheeran and Anne-Marie a little bit more after watching their YouTube collab, especially when Anne-Marie finishes by saying, “I love you, Ed,” and the two share a big hug. Aww!
Take a look at the video yourself and prepare for a singalong!
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