Some Fans Think Ed Sheeran's "Bad Habits" Video Copies The Weeknd
From the '80s sound to the wardrobe, it's all After Hours to them.
Ed Sheeran is making waves with his musical return. The singer released “Bad Habits,” his first song attached to an album in nearly four years, on June 25. With it came lots of praise from his die-hard Sheerios, but some are also criticizing the song’s similarity to another recently released bop. These tweets comparing Ed Sheeran's "Bad Habits" to The Weeknd's After Hours era are so passionate.
Sheeran first announced the new single on June 11, revealing it would be out in just two weeks. Sneak peeks he posted on Instagram showed him sporting blonde hair, which caught fans by surprise. “6 days to go. My hair was blonde for 3 days for the shoot. I apologise to all my ginger people, it will never happen again,” Sheeran captioned a June 20 post.
It appeared Sheeran took inspiration from the Joker when it came to his appearance for the video due to his ruffled hair, red suit, and eye makeup, but that wasn’t the only similarity fans noticed. Many pointed out the visual was uncannily similar to The Weeknd’s After Hours era. The Weeknd also wore a similar red suit and eye makeup in his “Blinding Lights” music video. Considering he donned the look during every one of his award show performances, red carpet appearances, and After Hours MVs, it was impossible not to think of him when seeing Sheeran’s “Bad Habits” outfit.
Even before Sheeran’s official music video arrived, chatter about the similarities started. “Ed Sheeran is ripping off The Weeknd and we're all jist [sic] gonna let it happen? ok,” one person tweeted.
Now that the song and video is finally here, take a look for yourself.
The comparisons only got louder on social media with the release of the song and video on June 25. Fans pointed out “Bad Habits” featured an ‘80s sound, which is unlike anything Sheeran has released before. The overall aesthetic of the video also reminded fans of The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” music video.
Although some fans criticized his new music for sounding like The Weeknd, others didn’t mind the comparisons.
Keep in mind, Sheeran could have totally been inspired by the Joker or a number of other characters or movies, so “Bad Habits” may have just accidentally ended up giving The Weeknd vibes. In any case, Sheeran has yet to address the comparisons.
