Ed Sheeran praises One Direction: 'They're flying our flag around the world and it's a very good thing'

'I See Fire' hitmaker Ed Sheeran has revealed that he's really excited for One Direction and all the success the boyband members are having around the globe.

Speaking to Digital Spy, the superstar confessed that they're representing Great Britain and Ireland on an international level and in a fantastic way, which can only be positive:

"I think it's great for them to be at stadium level. I think it's fantastic the success they're having and really flying the British and Irish flag everywhere around the world. It was a very good thing."

Sheeran, meanwhile, recently penned a track for the lads' new album 'FOUR' called '18' and told Yahoo! that he wrote it from their perspective: "I'm really happy with the record that I wrote for them. It's the first record I've actually specifically written for them."

"The other ones were my records that just didn't make it only my album, just because I had too many slow songs. But this one, I remember I had a meeting with them and he said we need a song. And the day after I wrote it and sent it over, and they sound great on it! It's good."

Check out One Direction's '18' here: