Ed Sheeran finds time to kick back on arena tour

Ed Sheeran says he's feeling "pretty relaxed" these days.

"All I'm doing is lounging around and watching TV shows," the 23-year-old British singer-songwriter tells The Tennessean. He can't wait for the new season of "Sons of Anarchy," and he's looking forward to checking out "Hannibal" on his brother's recommendation.

Sheeran is lying. Not about "Hannibal," but about his activity level.

All that "lounging around" is happening on a tour bus, and at night, he's getting off the couch to take the stage in arenas across the U.S. On Saturday, he'll be back at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena, a venue he played three nights in a row last year as Taylor Swift's opening act. This time, Sheeran is the headliner.

Tour life, on the other hand, is a breeze compared to the months he spent in nonstop promotional mode for his sophomore album, "X," which was released in June. That album had the tall order of following his breakout 2011 debut "+," which made the then-20-year-old a pop star on both sides of the Atlantic with tender acoustic tunes like "The A Team."

The work on "X" paid off: The funky, dancefloor-ready lead single "Sing" is a hit around the globe, and the R&B-leaning "Don't" looks to follow suit.

With "X" finally out in the world, Sheeran can return his focus to songwriting. That's the other thing he's been doing between concerts and TV.

"I didn't write anything for several months while I promoted ('X'), just because I was drained all of the time. But I've written probably eight or nine songs in the past three weeks, which is really good for me, I think."

And it's anyone's guess, including his, where those songs might end up. In addition to his own hits, Sheeran has written songs for/with One Direction, Jessie Ware and Swift, who included their duet, "Everything Has Changed," on her last album, "Red." He's collaborated with hip-hop names like Lupe Fiasco and Pharrell Williams (who produced "Sing"), and just wrapped up work on his first electronic dance music number with Dutch DJ Martin Garrix. He'd like to branch out even further.

"I've always wanted to do a country song," he says. "I think that'd be fun . . . I'd love to delve into that world. But there are certain worlds that I'm a fan of that I don't think I could do anything in. I'm a big metal fan. I really love metal music. I don't know if my voice is a metal voice, so that probably wouldn't really work."

Somehow, a country song didn't come to fruition last year as Sheeran spent eight months living in Hendersonville. — "the longest I've kind of lived anywhere," he jokes. As he spent half of 2013 touring with Swift, it made sense to make the Nashville area a temporary base.

"I should have taken advantage of the kind of studios and musicians that were around in Nashville," he says. "I was just very shut off in Hendersonville."

In his eyes, that was a good thing.

"I loved it," he says of his time in Sumner County. "I wish I didn't go off and live in such an idyllic place in England."

If you go

What: Ed Sheeran, with special guest Rudimental

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Bridgestone Arena (501 Broadway)

Tickets: $59.50

Info: www.edsheeran.com

Contact Dave Paulson at 615-664-2278 or on Twitter at @ItsDavePaulson.