Ed Sheeran's success has brought him friends in high places and the singer/songwriter chats to his mentor Sir Elton John every week.
The musician has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame in his native Britain, selling almost a million copies of his debut album + since its release last year (11).
Sheeran's career has been guided by Sir Elton's management company, Rocket Management, and the pop legend calls him on a weekly basis to give him advice.
He tells Britain's The Sun, "I speak to Elton on a weekly basis. He's very involved. I got a talk from him after the Brits nominations.
"He's overseas at the moment but left me an answerphone message. He said I've smashed it so hard and good luck.
"It's always good to hear from Elton. He's a lovely guy and is very passionate about the music. He wants me to be huge all over the world, and I'm up for that too."