“Shape of You” Single by Ed Sheeran from the album ÷
Released 6 January 2017
Label Asylum Atlantic
Songwriters Ed Sheeran, Johnny McDaid, Kandi Burruss, Kevin Briggs, Steve Mac, Tameka Cottle
Producers Ed Sheeran and Steve Mac
Charted No.1 in US, No.1 in UK, No.1 in Sweden, No.1 in Romania, No.1 in Portucak, No.1 in Poland, No.1 in Netherlands, No.1 in Italy, No,1 in Hungary, No.1 in Canada, No.1 in Germany, No.1 in Australia, No.1 in Austria.
“Shape of You” peaked at number one on the singles charts of 34 countries, including the US Billboard Hot 100—later becoming the best performing song of 2017—as well as in the British, Australian, Canadian and Irish singles charts. It stayed at number one for a record-tying 16 consecutive weeks on the Canadian Hot 100, as well as 14 nonconsecutive weeks on the UK Singles Chart, and 12 non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also highly successful elsewhere, reaching number one in many European charts and throughout Latin America, as well as in Malaysia where it spent 12 non-consecutive weeks at the top.
On 10 December 2018, the song became the first song to hit 2 billion streams on Spotify and is currently the 2nd most streamed song on the platform with 4.2 billion streams, behind “Blinding Lights” by the Weeknd. It was also the most-streamed song of the decade on Spotify with 2.4 billion streams by December 2019, and the most streamed song on Apple Music with 930 million streams, as of May 2023. It was the best-selling song of 2017 and the decade in the UK. “Shape of You” was the best-selling song of 2017 and the second best-selling digital song worldwide, with combined sales and track-equivalent streams of 26.6 million units according to IFPI.
On 30 January 2017, the official music video of the song, paying homage to the Rocky films, starring US dancer and model Jennie Pegouskie and retired professional sumo wrestler Yamamotoyama Ryūta (credited as “Yama”), was released on Sheeran’s channel. It was shot in Seattle, and was directed by Jason Koenig, who also directed Sheeran’s fourth single “Perfect” from ÷.
This was Ed Sheeran’s first US Hot 100 #1 as a performer , though he had previously topped the tally as a writer, having co-penned Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself.”
Sheeran performed this at the Grammy Awards in 2017 using his trusty Chewie II loop board, which allowed him to do it solo by looping beats and vocals. He used the same setup to play the song on tour.
At the Grammy Awards in 2018, Sheeran took Best Pop Solo Performance for this song. He was the only man nominated in the category, beating out entries from Kelly Clarkson, Kesha, Lady Gaga and Pink. He also won Best Pop Vocal Album for ÷.
The video stars Ed Sheeran as an aspiring boxer who strikes up a romance with a fellow pugilist played by Fresh Pair actress Jennie Pegouskie. The clip was filmed in Seattle and directed by Macklemore’s frequent visual collaborator Jason Koenig.
