Foy Vance has won an Emmy alongside Ed Sheeran for a song written for the Ted Lasso soundtrack.

The singer-songwriter from Northern Ireland collected the award on the first night of the 75th Creative Arts Emmy Awards in Los Angeles.

Vance was named the co-winner of the Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics, along with Sheeran and Swedish music producer Max Martin.

The trio wrote A Beautiful Game for the final episode of the Apple TV+ show.

Originally from Bangor, County Down, Vance rose to prominence in 2013 with his critically-acclaimed album Joy of Nothing, for which he won the inaugural Northern Ireland Music Prize.

He later signed to Sheeran’s record label, Gingerbread Records, and has toured and collaborated with him on numerous occasions.

Vance collected the award on behalf of his collaborators at the Peacock Theatre on Saturday.

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster’s Evening Extra programme, Vance said he was still coming to terms with the Emmy win.

“I’m still a bit shell shocked,” he said.

“It was an incredible night, there was plenty of glitz and glamour. The ball, the gala afterwards, was remarkable”.

He added: “The nomination was enough, that really is genuine, not a cliché. If I had gone all that way and not come home with the award I would not have been disappointed at all”.

Vance said if his song-writing partners wanted the Emmy they would “have to come and try and get it”.

He and Sheeran’s relationship, he added, goes back some way and began when a teenage Sheeran went to see the Bangor singer-songwriter along with his dad.

“When he came to prominence, got a record deal he reached out to me to write with him. We became friends, it happened very naturally”.

Writing earlier on X, formerly Twitter, Vance said: “What an honour to accept this award last night.”

The musician added: “We wanted to make a ‘come all ye’ of a song that felt universal and unifying… [I] never would have dreamed it would receive the coveted Emmy nod let alone take home the award… bewildering.”

Sheeran said he was not expecting to win and it was a “real, real surprise” waking up to the news as he begins his tour of Asia.

“We were all fans of the show and got asked to do a song for the finale, so two years ago this month we got in together and wrote a song about love and football, and how it is always about the journey rather than the destination,” Sheeran wrote on Instagram.

“It was up against some fantastic artists and songs in its Emmy category… hence not thinking we had a chance in hell of winning, but thank you so much for whoever voted for it, and to Max, Foy and all the Lasso crew.

“I really am honoured.”