FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JANUARY 17, 2017


GLOBAL SUPERSTAR ED SHEERAN MAKES CHART HISTORY

“SHAPE OF YOU” SCORES #1 DEBUT “CASTLE ON THE HILL” ENTERS AT #6 ON BILLBOARD’S HOT 100

MULTI-GRAMMY WINNER IS THE FIRST ARTIST EVER TO DEBUT TWO SONGS IN THE TOP 10 SIMULTANEOUSLY IN THE HOT 100’S 58-YEAR HISTORY

HIGHLY ANTICIPATED THIRD STUDIO ALBUM AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW

“÷” (PRONOUNCED DIVIDE) ARRIVES EVERYWHERE MARCH 3RD

“SHAPE OF YOU” & “CASTLE ON THE HILL”
AVAILABLE NOW ON ALL DSPS & STREAMING PARTNERS

LINKS TO POST: “SHAPE OF YOU” & “CASTLE ON THE HILL”

ALL PRESS ASSETS AVAILABLE HERE

Global superstarED SHEERAN has made history with his singles “Shape Of You” and “Castle On The Hill,” debuting at #1 and #6 respectively on Billboard’s Hot 100, becoming the first artist ever to debut two singles in the top 10 simultaneously in the chart’s 58-year history. The two tracks – released in tandem at the top of the new year - are the first singles from the multi-GRAMMY award winning singer-songwriter’s hugely anticipated third studio album “÷” (pronounced divide), which is available for pre-order here and arrives on March 3 via Atlantic Records.

“Shape Of You” is Sheeran’s first #1 on the Hot 100 as an artist, with his smash single “Thinking Out Loud” earning him his previous career-high on the chart, holding #2 for a record-setting, eight consecutive weeks. Sheeran co-wrote Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” which held the #1 spot on the Hot 100 for two consecutive weeks last year and topped the 2016 year-end Hot 100. “Love Yourself” is up for “Song of the Year” at this year’s GRAMMY Awards, earning Sheeran his 11th GRAMMY nomination. Sheeran himself is very familiar with this category – which specifically recognizes and honors songwriters - having been previously nominated for this award twice before, winning last year for his 7x-Platinum hit “Thinking Out Loud.”

On his latest milestone, Sheeran says: “It feels amazing to debut at #1 in the U.S. especially after being away for so long. Topping the Hot 100 for the first time AND to have ‘Castle On The Hill’ also debut in the top 10…I’m speechless. I really wanted to come back with those two songs to show the different sides of my music and what people can expect on ‘÷.’ The response to both songs has been absolutely incredible. I can’t wait to share the rest of the album.”

“Shape Of You” and “Castle On The Hill” have also made chart history in Sheeran’s native UK, debuting at #1 and #2, respectively, making him the first artist to land the top spots with two brand new tracks. Remarkably, the two songs have outsold the rest of the UK singles chart Top 20 combined. Similarly, in Australia, Sheeran has become the first artist to have simultaneous debuts at #1 and #2; the songs also hold the #1 and #2 positions in New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland, France and Ireland. Both singles have already been certified Gold in the UK, Australia, and Ireland.

“Shape Of You” continues to break global streaming records on Spotify, including biggest ‘one-day’ streams for a track with 7,940,950 streams and biggest-ever ‘first week’ global streams for a track (both overtaking Adele’s “Hello”), as well as the biggest-ever ‘one week’ streams for a track, globally (surpassing Drake’s “One Dance”) – with a total of 52 million global Spotify streams this week. With "Shape Of You" tallying 6,868,642 streams and "Castle On The Hill" landing 6,168,395 streams, both of the new tracks had individually overtaken the previous 'day 1’ record holders (One Direction logged 4,759,698 streams with "Drag Me Down" in August 2015).

Both songs have become fixtures in the top 10 on the iTunes "Overall Songs" chart, with "Shape Of You" skyrocketing to the #1 spot upon its release, where it still currently stands. Over the last week, “Shape Of You” has hit #1 on iTunes in 92 markets while “Castle On The Hill” has reached #1 in 43 markets. On Spotify, “Shape Of You” hit #1 in 38 markets while holding the global #1 for the duration. “Castle On The Hill” held the #2 position in 28 markets worldwide and top 10 in 38 markets.

Meanwhile, the accompanying lyric videos have received nearly 100 million combined hits, including over 10 million views in the first 24 hours alone, marking his fastest-ever video launches, with the accompanying official videos still to come.

One of the most anticipated global releases of 2017, “÷” sees the 25-year-old in his finest form yet. Drawing inspiration from a wide array of experiences and subjects, Sheeran takes you through a hugely personal journey; be that reflecting on past relationships, family memories, his musical career or his time off travelling the world in 2016. Musically, “÷” is a varied collection of beautifully orchestrated and emotive ballads, impassioned raps laid over hip hop beats, timeless acoustic guitar masterpieces, and innovative, idiosyncratic pop music. Constantly on the move, the album was recorded between LA, London, Suffolk and while crossing the Atlantic aboard the RMS Queen Mary 2. Executive produced by multi-GRAMMY winner Benny Blanco and Sheeran himself with additional production coming from frequent collaborator Johnny McDaid, GRAMMY winner Mike Elizondo, and BRIT-award winner Steve Mac. Sheeran also created the album artwork concept for “÷,” even painting the cover himself.

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Ed Sheeran – an 11-time GRAMMY nominee and multi-GRAMMY winner - has quickly established himself as one of the world’s biggest musical artists with over 22 million albums sold and 4.7 billion Spotify streams. The British singer-songwriter’s second full length album ‘x’ (pronounced multiply) – released in 2014 - proved to be both a critical and commercial phenomenon. After debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 upon its release, the album has since been certified 4x-Platinum in the US and earned two GRAMMY nominations, including the prestigious Album Of The Year. Additionally, “x” spawned four consecutive multi-platinum singles in “Sing,” “Don’t,” “Photograph,” and his global smash and biggest single to date “Thinking Out Loud,” which marked his first #1 at Top 40 radio and won a pair of GRAMMY awards, including highly coveted “Song Of The Year.”

Furthermore, “x” was a global sensation reaching #1 on album charts in 14 countries including his native United Kingdom, and topping 95 iTunes charts across the globe. One of the planet’s most popular live performers, Ed has played sold out headline shows at some of the biggest venues around the world, including Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA, Suncorp Stadium in Sydney, and at London’s Wembley Stadium in front of 240,000 fans over 3 nights. Ed first broke through to the mainstream in 2012 with his debut album“+” (pronounced plus),which was a top 5 debut in the US and spent three weeks at #1 in the UK. The 2x-Platinum “+” features “The A Team”, an international smash which earned Ed his first GRAMMY nomination (“Song Of The Year”) and has been certified 3x-Platinum in the US.

Sheeran launched his own imprint, Gingerbread Man Records, in 2015, with the signing of fellow British singer songwriter Jamie Lawson – whose self-titled album debuted at #1 in the UK – and Irish troubadour Foy Vance.

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PRESS CONTACTS:

Glenn Fukushima (National Press) //

Jason Davis (Tour/Online Press) //