Ed Sheeran might have stadiums on Earth wrapped around his little finger, but when it comes to outer space, he’s drawing the line.
The pop superstar revealed that he turned down an offer to be the first musician to perform a gig in space, and honestly, his reasoning makes a lot of sense.
Sheeran admitted the idea terrified him. “I want to go to space when it’s like flying to France and 40,000 people have done it, and you can just book it online,” he said. Right now, space travel is still experimental, unpredictable, and, let’s be real, a little dangerous.
“I don’t want to be a guinea pig for that,” he explained.
And his biggest concern? His family. The singer and his wife have two young daughters, ages 3 and 5, and he’s not about to gamble with fatherhood just to strum a guitar in zero gravity. “I’m not going to risk my kids not having a dad,” Sheeran said, cutting through the hype with a dose of parental practicality.
Instead of space, he’s keeping his bucket list earthbound for now. Sheeran pointed out that there are plenty of places on this planet he hasn’t explored yet, like Greenland, which he’d love to visit long before suiting up for orbit.
It’s not hard to imagine why he’s hesitant.
Space travel for civilians has made headlines in recent years with billionaires and a handful of lucky passengers blasting off, but it’s still a developing industry. Tickets cost millions, training is intense, and mishaps have made safety a serious question mark. Being the first to perform a concert beyond Earth would certainly make history, but it would also make anyone the ultimate test subject.
For now, Sheeran fans will just have to settle for hearing “Perfect” under the stars instead of among them. Considering how risky space tourism still is, it seems likely plenty of other musicians would pass on the offer too.
So, while the first gig in space remains open, Sheeran’s response sums up what a lot of parents might say: Cool idea, but not worth leaving your kids without a bedtime story.