Justin Bieber: 'Ed Sheeran is an inspiration to his fans'

Justin Bieber has urged Ed Sheeran to stay above scandal because he's a true inspiration to his fans.

The singers collaborated on Justin's song Love Yourself and the 22-year-old quickly realised why the Thinking Out Loud star is so popular and beloved by his army of fans.

"Me and Ed aren't super close but he's someone who I consider a friend and I really appreciate his music," he told BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge host Nick Grimshaw. "I appreciate who he is as a person. He's an inspiration to a lot of young people - he makes awesome music that people are inspired by and that people laugh to, cry to and I think it's important in music to have those people who bring the emotion out of you."

"There's something about him that just makes you like him," he added. "He's very likeable and very, very talented."

Justin feels his collaboration with Ed was fated, because both young stars are keenly aware of what is popular in music.

"We found a sweet spot," he explained. "I think that he knows what sounds good range-wise in my vocals and he's got his ear to the streets. He's very relevant but knows his stuff at the same time, so he brings in stuff that he grew up listening to into what he's making now which is really neat (sic)."

And the Baby singer, who has experienced various legal issues over the years, doesn't want the 25-year-old to slip up and run the risk of ruining his career.

"Let's hope he doesn't (do something like that...," he said. "We gotta make sure he doesn't do something stupid to mess it all up."