X Factor winner's single co-writer defends 'backlash' Ed Sheeran has received

The co-writer of Matt Terry's X Factor winners song has defended the backlash it's been getting because it was penned by Ed Sheeran.

Amy Wadge says for it not to be used is "just a waste of a song".

The duo have previously worked together on Ed's number one Thinking Out Loud and were just playing in a Nashville studio where Ed was writing.

"Ed called me and said 'Why don't you come over and we'll just sit down and write some songs?'"

Amy explains, "It was just for the sake of writing because his album is done."

She adds that we're going to get to hear that, "really soon".

Watch Matt Terry perform his debut single on the X Factor final

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It's only the second time an original song has been written for an X Factor winner.

The last was 11 years ago with Shayne Ward's That's My Goal.

There's been some criticism that Ed has "sold out" by associating himself with X Factor, but Amy disagrees.

"We said 'let's write a Christmas song' and that's what we did," she says.

"We wrote this song and [he] said we should send it to Simon Cowell and then I got a call to say it's the X Factor's winners single."

Amy tweeted: Massive congrats @MattTerry93 you sound beautiful on the song xxx

She's not too worried about the so-called backlash that some people are describing.

"The way I pay my bills is from songwriting.

"Ed is so prolific that he's going to write so many songs in a year and not all of those songs are going to see the light of day.

"With Ed, all of this year has been preparing for his next album and for him to have released a Christmas song it just wouldn't have happened.

"We both said we had this lovely song so we should give it away."

Amy's hoping to get a Christmas number one with When Christmas Comes Around but "is just happy" to be in the running "with some great contenders".

And what about if Simon Cowell had said no?

"If X Factor hadn't taken it we might well have given it to somebody else."

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