Ed Sheeran discusses songwriting, privacy, and his desire to collaborate with Drake.

The deliciously savage "Love Yourself," in which Justin Bieber gently croons gems like "my mama don't like you, and she likes everything," is one of Justin Bieber's best songs. Ed Sheeran co-wrote the song, which was recorded late one night in producer Benny Blanco's makeshift tour bus studio, with the "Perfect" singer sitting cross-legged, strumming his guitar, and riffing lyrics to a melody they had just formed.

Songwriter, a recent Apple Music documentary about Ed Sheeran's lyrical talent, starts with these words. The documentary (out now) was filmed by Sheeran's cousin Murray Cummings during the recording of his third album (Divide), and it focuses on the Brit's songwriting sessions with Blanco and collaborators like Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid, folk singer Foy Vance, and guests like Julia Michaels.

Sheeran tells Entertainment Weekly, "It's so vital for me to be seen as a songwriter rather than just a puppet-like because you want people to believe these thoughts and feelings are yours." “People always think you don't compose your music if you're the artist and have other people on the songwriting credits.”

Songwriter stays true to Sheeran's carefully drawn boundaries around his private life, but there are glimpses into his family as he returns to his old school in Suffolk, England. Sheeran's father's archive video shows a baby Ed with a mop of red hair and large glasses demonstrating his innate musical ability. There are a few recent romantic moments as well, such as when he plays his father "Supermarket Flowers," a heartfelt ode to his late grandmother, or when his fiancée Cherry Seaborn leaps into his arms after arriving in Malibu.

If you're hoping to see Sheeran's more well-known friends in the documentary, you might be disappointed.

“I still feel very f–king odd asking people I know who are popular to do things,” Sheeran says, adding, “The Biebers and the One Direction and the Taylors and the Beyoncés — I want to be treated as an equal, I don't want handouts, so I don't feel comfortable going, 'Hey, can you do this?'”

Sheeran talked to EW about using Songwriter to focus on his future, ditching the acoustic guitar for his next album, and how Drake inspires him.

APPRECIATION EACH WEEK: What shocked you the most when you first saw the documentary? Are there any facts about you that audiences will discover that they didn't know before?

SHEERAN, ED: People expect something new when they hear the words "documentary" and "musician." I believe that people, mostly journalists, are watching it and wondering, "Where's the scoop?" because there hasn't been any major discovery of a drug or alcohol problem or anything similar. It's a film about me writing music, and it's exactly as it says on the tin. The fact that Murray had all the footage shocked me because he was just on tour to record it; we weren't filming anything.

Was there something you wanted Murray to stay away from while he was filming, or something you wanted to leave out?

Only normal stuff, like my home, my family — only private matters, I believe. I know Cherry is in it, but I didn't want her to take center stage. I have very little influence over a lot of things, but I prefer to keep the things I do have private.

You're 27 now, and you've spent the majority of your twenties growing up in the spotlight. What is it like to navigate what is public and what is private, particularly now that so much is out in the open?

I believe you simply need to be very strict. Since my songs are about my personal life, you must mention them briefly, but I don't reveal too much about myself. I feel like I can get away with being very close with other things because I'm so open with everything else. In an interview, when people ask me a question, I tell them what I think. In that sense, I'm not media-trained, and I believe that if I do so, I'll be able to turn off personal aspects of my life.

Do you believe that as a singer, because you write your songs and many of them are personal, you are subjected to more scrutiny than other artists?

When it first came out, they said I painted women as angels or villains, with little in between — which I thought was odd because there are songs that are meaningful and songs that are good, but you don't write songs about mediocre days, do you? You don't say to yourself, "Oh, I had a good day today, I'll write an album." "I'm really happy," you say, "so I'll write a song," or "I'm pissed off or sad, so I'll write a song." People need to realize that songs are going to be extremes; how I feel one day does not mean I feel that way all of the time. We all get frustrated and happy, and those are the times when the songs come in handy.

In this documentary, you claim that this is your career-defining release and that the other two albums led you to it...

That's true, but I'm getting the impression that those three are taking me to the next step. You still have that feeling about the next project!

This documentary provides an opportunity to reflect on as you progress in your career. What part of your life did it describe and capture?

It seems strange to say, but I believe it captured the fall and rise of my sanity. From it caught the end of x (Multiply), which was a dark time filled with addictive s–t, dark people, and just bad times, to take a year off, falling in love with Cherry, and putting my life back together. It was as if the end of x wasn't all that nice, but at the start, I was all put back together and ready to f–king take on the planet. And with how lean I am in points and how fat I am in points, you can sort of seeing it undoing and getting back together. There was none of that between + (Plus) and x because I went straight through it, while after x, there was.

So many of your songs that have struck a chord with people have dealt with heartbreak and love at a young age. How are you navigating what songs you're listening to now that you and Cherry are engaged?

It's all a little different now. I still write love songs, but now I'm reminiscing about times in my life that I've never written about before. Since you can't write heartbreaking songs when you're in love, you have to go back to when you've been heartbroken.

What can we expect next, in terms of new sounds and new stuff you want to investigate?

The next project I'm working on is totally out of my comfort zone — completely out of my comfort zone.

What do you mean by that?

There isn't an acoustic guitar on it, as far as I can tell. It's different to be an acoustic singer-songwriter. But it's not an album, a mixtape, or anything; it's just a compilation of songs that will be released soon.

What do you mean?

I'm not sure; I don't want to advertise it; I just want to see it through. Since it was such a big deal, I feel like I need to clear the air a little bit afterward. I just feel that if I released an album after that, people will compare it to and expect it to be bigger and sell more. Looking at how Drake does it taught me a thing or two. Drake releases massive albums, but in between, he releases ventures, and it doesn't matter how large the project is because it isn't the album, if that makes sense. It simply clears the way for the next record.

Is there someone you want to work with on the next one?

There were a lot of people. I feel like Drake and I need to do something at some point, and I believe it will happen at some point.

How hasn't it happened yet?

I mean, I've been on tour for who knows how long, and he's been on tour for who knows how long, and he's still releasing new material. I simply believe that those two worlds must collide at some stage, and I have no idea how or what it will sound like, but I believe it is unavoidable... He's someone I've only met a handful of times. I'm not sure if it's even possible. I'd like to believe he shares my viewpoint.

There are a lot of parallels between you two, in my opinion.

Yes, but we are different in many respects, which I believe will make for an interesting album. It's just one of those things, though. It won't be the end of the world if it doesn't happen, but I just think it'd be interesting.