Ed Sheeran Teaches James Blunt To Write Songs In Exchange For Ski Lessons

English singer-songwriter James Blunt joins in the music scene with friend and pop star Ed Sheeran, whom he credits for his comeback. Blunt just revealed how the younger singer-songwriter encouraged and taught him to write songs again while he taught Sheeran how to ski. Blunt's comeback album "The Afterlove," including songs co-written by the red-haired singer, will be out March 24.

James Blunt told PEOPLE Now hosts Jeremy Parsons and Andrea Boehlke on Friday how he and Ed Sheeran had some exchange of lessons day in and day out. So while he acted as a ski instructor to the "Thinking Out Loud" singer by day, Sheeran, in turn, taught him how to write songs by night. Blunt explained that he "shut down" and "stopped writing really open lyrics" after his smash hit "You're Beautiful" eventually got panned by critics. His last album "Moon Landing" was four years ago.

The 43-year-old singer described the fruitful exchange as "a real education" and his fellow singer-songwriter as "a really nice guy," "a phenomenal talent" and well-grounded. He shared what Ed Sheeran told him, "He said, this is your job, let's write something really open and genuine." No wonder James Blunt oozes with confidence with his new album. "That's why I think there's an authenticity and confidence back in my songwriting that I needed a young kid to show me," he told the hosts.

Ed Sheeran and James Blunt both attended a dinner party at the Duke of York's Royal Lodge in Windsor last year. Blunt reportedly joked that he wanted to be a knight so Princess Beatrice swung out a ceremonial sword in a prank to grant the wish but ended up slashing the cheek of Sheeran, who was standing at the back. The "Shape of You" singer didn't want to divulge when he appeared on "The Graham Norton Show" in January but joked instead that "it was James Blunt trying to get his pop career back." The singer, however, revealed how he hit Justin Bieber in the cheek with a golf club in Japan. His song "Love Yourself" ended up as a smash hit for Justin Bieber.