Shape of you
"Shape of You" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was released as adigital download on 6 January 2017 as one of the double lead singles from his third studio album ÷ (2017), along with "Castle on the Hill".[4]
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The dancehall-infused pop song[5] was written by Ed Sheeran together with Steve Mac andJohnny McDaid, with additional writing credits given to Kandi Burruss, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, and Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs as Sheeran had incorporated an interpolation of the TLC's song "No Scrubs" into "Shape of You".[2][6] The song was produced by Sheeran and Mac.
"Shape of You" peaked at number-one on the singles charts of 34 countries, including theUS Billboard Hot 100 (later becoming the best performing song of 2017), as well as the UK, Australian and Canadian singles charts. It has stayed at number one for a record-tying 16 consecutive weeks on the Canadian Hot 100, as well as 14 non-consecutive weeks on theUK Singles Chart,[7] and 12 non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.[8] On 21 September 2017 it became the most streamed song on Spotify, with over 1.32 billion streams.[9] It was the best-selling song of 2017 in the UK.[10]
Background
Composition
The song was the last song written for Sheeran's third album ÷.[12] On 6 January 2017, when hosting The Radio 1 Breakfast Show, Sheeran revealed that "Shape of You" had originally been written with Rihanna in mind.[13][14] As he had already written all the songs he wanted for the album, the song was therefore not intended to be included in the album. It was conceived as a duet between Rihanna and Rudimental, but the head of the record label convinced him to keep the song for himself.[15] He said:
According to Sheeran, Steve Mac started the song-writing session by playing the opening notes of the song on the keyboard. Sheeran then joined in, adding percussion by tapping on the guitar, layering it onto the track. On the writing of the song, he said that he tried to keep the music "more stripped" instead of something more elaborate: "I'm an acoustic artist, first and foremost. And when I play live, I can't replicate these things, I haven't got all the other musicians." Sheeran said he wanted an R&B feel to the song, therefore he adjusted the original tune, adding an interpolation of "No Scrubs" onto part of the melody. He also revealed that the original lyrics did not end with the words "the shape of you" in the chorus, but during the writing of the song, McDaid thought that the lyrics "I'm in love with your body" sounded objectifying, and the lyrics was therefore adjusted.[15][6]
Promotion
On 4 January 2017, Sheeran uploaded a six-second teaser video of a blue background to social media, with lyrics "the club isn't the best place to find a lover", which is the first line of "Shape of You". To further tease the release, Sheeran and his label used a sponsored Snapchat lens filter with 30 seconds on the song to increase buzz among the general public.[17]
Composition
"Shape of You" is a pop,[18] dancehall[5] andtropical house[19] song with "strummy acoustics."[20] In the song, Sheeran sings over a marimba-fueled percussive sway about a budding romance. "The club isn't the best place to find a lover, so the bar is where I go/ Me and my friends at the table doing shots drinking fast and then we talk slow", he sings. "Come over and start up a conversation with just me/ And trust me I'll give it a chance."[21]According to NT News, the song "tells the story of loved (or lusted) up Sheeran meeting a girl in a bar where he and his mates are doing shots."[22] "Shape of You" is written in the key of C♯ minor with a tempo of 96 beats per minute. The song is composed incommon time (4
4 time), and follows a basicchord progression of C♯m–F♯m–A–B (i–iv–VI–VII), and Sheeran's vocals span from G♯2to G♯4.[23]
4 time), and follows a basicchord progression of C♯m–F♯m–A–B (i–iv–VI–VII), and Sheeran's vocals span from G♯2to G♯4.[23]
The song's lyrical rhythm drew comparisons to the TLC song "No Scrubs", particularly in the pre-chorus line, "Boy, let's not talk too much/ Grab on my waist and put that body on me."[24] As a result, the composers of "No Scrubs", Kandi Burruss, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, and Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, were awarded co-writing credits on "Shape of You".[24]
Critical reception
Jon Caramanica from The New York Timessaid, "'Shape of You' is trickier, a nimble and effective song that takes the aggressive thinning of 'Caribbean music'."[25] Billboard's Taylor Weatherby wrote about the song saying, "'Shape of You' doesn't quite sound like your typical Sheeran tune. But that almost serves as an indication of what the "Thinking Out Loud" singer has been up to during his hiatus: creating music that still feels like Sheeran, just with a new twist."[26] Jeremy Gordon of Spin gave the song a positive review, stating that the song "is a plausible attempt at convincing us he has had sex ... a lot of it. It kind of slaps, though you can't really picture Sheeran ever saying 'put that body on me' to a real human woman."[27]News website Metro wrote that it sounds similar to the song "Cheap Thrills" by Sia.[28]
Commercial performance
"Shape of You" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 13 January, selling 227,000 combined units in its first week. Sheeran also debuted at number 2 with the song "Castle on the Hill", making him the only artist in UK chart history to debut in the top two positions.[29] "Shape of You" debuted at number two on the Scottish Singles Chart behind "Castle on the Hill". The song was certified Silver in the first week due to selling 200,000 units and Gold in the second week selling 400,000 units. The song remained at number one in its second week, selling 139,000. It has stayed at number one for 13 consecutive weeks on the UK Singles Chart,[7]and a further week at the top after a week's interruption by Harry Styles' "Sign of the Times".[30] In July 2017, the song reached 184 million in streams, making it the most-streamed song in the UK of all time.[31] It was the nation's highest selling and most streamed track of 2017 with 787,000 copies sold and 248 million streams throughout the year, to produce a combined sales of 3.2 million.[10] It is the 3rd best-selling single in the United Kingdom regarding combined sales and streaming equivalent as of September 19, 2017.[32]
The song debuted at number one on theBillboard Hot 100, selling 240,000 downloads and gaining 20 million streams in its debut week in the US, becoming Sheeran's first number one song in the country.[33] Sheeran also became the first artist to debut two songs in the top 10 the same week in the history of the Hot 100, with "Castle on the Hill" also debuting at number six.[33] "Shape of You" topped the Hot 100 for 12 non-consecutive weeks.[8] In its fourth week at number one, the song also topped theMainstream Top 40, becoming Sheeran's second number-one single on the chart (after 2015's "Thinking Out Loud"). On 6 May 2017, it fell to number two on the Hot 100, being displaced by "Humble" by Kendrick Lamar.[34]On the issue date, 2 September 2017, "Shape of You" spent its 32nd week in the top ten of Hot 100, tying the record for most week on that chart with LeAnn Rimes' "How Do I Live" and "Closer" by The Chainsmokers featuringHalsey.[35] The following week, "Shape of You" spent its 33rd consecutive week in the top 10, breaking the 20-year-old record.[36] OnBillboard's Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, "Shape of You" became Sheeran's first number one on a Dance/EDM chart (his third top ten and sixth overall at Dance/Mix Show Airplay) in the United States.[37] Afterwards, the song topped Dance Club Songs in its 18 March 2017 issue, his first as a solo artist and his second entry on this chart, when he was a featured artist on Rudimental's "Lay It All on Me", which peaked at No. 38 in 2016.[38][39] By August 2017, "Shape of You" was the best selling song of 2017 in the US with 2.3 million copies sold, the only one to sell over two million. It is also the most streamed song with 799.7 million combined audio and video streams.[35] The song became the number one song of the year on Billboard Hot 100 in 2017,[40] and the second best-selling song in the US after "Despacito" with over 2.5 million copies sold.[41]
It debuted at number one in France,[42] and was later certified diamond there.[43]According to Pure Charts, in the first half of the year 2017, the song reached 631,000 units (105,000 sales and 526,000 units from streams) and as of September 2017, it exceeds 812,109 units (707,109 from streams).[44] In Australia, the song stayed at No. 1 for 15 weeks, breaking a record set 22 years ago by Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise".[45]In doing this, it also broke ABBA's record of fourteen weeks at number one, which was set on the previous Australian charts before the ARIA charts became Australia's official charts.[46] "Shape of You" was also Australia's highest selling song of 2017 with 630,000 copies sold by the end of the year.[47] The song is the first ever number one single of thePhilippine Hot 100 upon the chart's inception on 12 June 2017.[48] It stayed at the peak position for 4 consecutive weeks before it was dethroned by "Despacito" by Luis Fonsiand Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber.
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