Ed Sheeran has spoken of his appreciation for Taylor Swift, suggesting that working with her will help him reach new audiences. The British singer-songwriter, who appears on Swift's new album Red, will act as support for the country star's forthcoming North American tour, set to kick off in Omaha, Nebraska on March 13, 2012.

Swift sold over 1.2 million copies of her album Red last week, and tickets for the tour are likely to sell out in minutes when they go on sale on November 16. Sheeran, who is already one of the biggest solo acts in the UK, told MTV News, "I think Taylor's just opening up a lot of doors and it's up to me to make sure that I get through to them.It's a massive opportunity for me and I want to make sure to grab it with both hands ... it will be exciting to be back in a situation where I'm playing in front of people who are complete strangers and I have to win them over." The 21-year-old is, of course, no stranger to large crowds and recently set off on his own sold out arena tour in the UK. Though he played to thousands at the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham this week, Ed suggests the Taylor Swift tour will be a different beast, "I've never gone on tour for six months without any break. I've never really touched multiple arenas, so that' going to be a bit mind-blowing," he said. 

After Sheeran got a 'Red' tattoo, the tabloids suggest that Swift and he were more than songwriting partners, though he explained, "When my album came out all around the world I got the world tattooed ... If I'm going to be on tour with this album for six months I thought that would be quite a big part of my life."