ED SHEERAN has sold more than 26 million albums and 100 million singles worldwide, but his success won't last according to Sir Elton John.
In fact, Elton is already beginning to get bored by Sheeran's continued presence on the radio, as he revealed during an appearance on the George Ezra & Friends podcast.
Despite dominating the album and singles charts for much of the past few years and breaking the US, the Rocket Man singer believes Sheeran should be aware of what is just around the corner.
Comparing the 27-year-old's career to his 50-year journey in the music business, Elton reflected: "You have a heyday and you have a rest, and the heyday can never be replaced.
"After that I had the common sense to know I'm not going to have a No1 every time straight away. I knew someone else would take over. It's cyclical.
"Ed will go through that and I've talked to him about it. I've said, 'There'll come a time where this won't happen every time and you have to accept that'."
Ed Sheeran has paid tribute to an Irish county with a tattoo. (Picture: Universal Pictures/YouTube)Though Elton was keen to stress he considered Sheeran a "dear friend", he also revealed he was beginning to grow tired of hearing the singer on the radio.
He said: "On the [American radio] chart, which is the middle-of-the-road chart, Ed is still No1 and Shape Of You is still in the chart.
"It's like, 'Why?'
"How many times do you want to listen to these things?"
Elton is set to retire from performing live after completing a three-year world tour that is due to begin in September 2018.
The Farewell Yellow Brick Road will include two performances at Dublin's 3Arena on June 12 and 13, 2019.
