The next Taylor + Calvin? Nicole Scherzinger and Ed Sheeran are 'in the early stages of dating'

After breaking up with her boyfriend Lewis Hamilton and getting dropped by her record label due to poor album sales, Nicole Scherzinger might finally have something to celebrate.

The Sun reports that the 37-year-old singer is dating singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, 24.

It's been a slow-building thing since the pair met in London several months ago. They've since gone out on pub dates, and Ed took Nicole to his hometown of Framlingham, England, last month.

"As far as he's concerned they were in the early stages of dating and he's been open about it with close friends and colleagues," a friend of Ed's said. "It may not develop beyond those dates, but they're definitely tight."

Added a friend of Nicole: "They're extremely close. Nicole says he is the male version of her."

The unlikely mates have even forged the all-important pub bond. The two were pictured in July drinking in The Station Hotel, a local bar in Ed's old stomping ground.

"She loved it because, as she put it, it was 'so real', her pal said. "She kept saying that."

Has Ed seen Nicole's Britney Spears imitation? Watch it below.