Sheeran’s new hit

Ed Sheeran is one of the top pop stars today. He is not much for gimmicks and prefers looking natural. But he has incredible songwriting skills and a voice so singular but filled with regular boy-next-door charm. No wonder he easily impressed actor Jamie Foxx and the iconic Elton John. Foxx allowed Sheeran to use his studio and stay in his L.A. house in the early days while John became manager and mentor. I suppose those two are pleased as punch over the success of their discovery. Expect to hear a lot from and about Sheeran these days as his third album is set for release this week.

I got curious first about Sheeran’s upcoming album after I learned that it will be titled Divide. Well, he had a Plus (+) for his first and a Multiply (X) for his second. So it is only logical that he made a Divide for his third. Then I heard his new single Shape Of You and I became even more curious. If Shape Of You is any indication, then Divide is going to be quite an album. 

It was so good that I wanted to hear more of Divide at once and I got into the habit of checking on the progress of its release this past month. The release date was March 3 so it should be available by now and on its way to becoming a big hit. But I found out something else. The red-haired pop star plays this cute teasing game with his followers. That I believe, further whets the excitement of his fans to hear his latest music. 

Sheeran dropped two singles first early in February, Shape Of You and Castle On The Hill. Then he performed them on Grammy night. The songs zoomed to the Top 10 in hit charts all over the world instantly. Within a few days, it was clear that Sheeran had another monster seller in his hands with Shape Of You. The snappy love song is the first one in several weeks to give today’s seemingly invincible Bruno Mars strong competition. So I got more excited and I am sure so did all of Sheeran’s fans.  

What does he do?  Instead of waiting it out until release date, he decides to come out with another song. No, it is not one of the singles, How Would You Feel (Paean) is a steamy love song he teased the Internet with last Feb. 17 because the date happened to be his 26th birthday. Yes, Sheeran is only 26 years old. He had been showing off his singing and writing skills since he was four and his talents are in full throttle now. The third song from the new album has the plaintive, pleading quality that recalls Thinking Out Loud so I am sure that single or not, it will be another big hit.

Perhaps still too excited to wait for March 3, Sheeran dropped another song from Divide last Feb. 28, the perky opening cut Eraser. By that time it had already become clear that Divide is another must have album. No way you will be content just having it on streams. I have a feeling that like Multiply (X), the album will be made up of one great song after another. 

Shape of You made No. 1 in the U.S. of A. after Sheeran’s Grammy performance. Same thing here, bye, bye Versace On The Floor, it is now the No. 1 tune on Spotify this week. Here are the Top 20 songs in the Philippine charts.

Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran; Something Just Like This by The Chainsmokers and Cold Play; Versace On The Floor by Bruno Mars; That’s What I Like, again by Mars; Say You Won’t Let Go by James Arthur; I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (50 Shades Darker) by Zaynand Taylor Swift; Paris by The Chainsmokers; How Far I’ll Go by Alessia Cara; Closer by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey; It Ain’t Me (With Selena) by Kygo feat. Selena Gomez.

24 K Magic by Mars; Starving by Hailee Steinfeld, Grey and Zedd; Don’t Wanna Know by Maroon 5 and Kendrick Lamar; Bad Things by Machine Gun Kelly and Camilla Cabello, formerly of Fifth Harmony; Scared To Be Lonely by Martin Garrix and Dua Lipa; All Night by The Vamps and Matoma; All We Know also by The Chainsmokers and Phoebe Ryan; Perfect Strangers by Jonas Blue and JP Cooper; Call On Me by Starley and Ryan Riback; and Fresh Eyes by Andy Grammer.