Description
180-gram 45 RPM double LP
Sixteen tracks, including "Castle on the Hill" and "Shape of You"
÷ (pronounced "Divide") is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was released on 3 March 2017 through Asylum Records and Atlantic Records. "Castle on the Hill" and "Shape of You" were released as the album's lead singles on 6 January 2017. "Galway Girl" was announced as the third single via Sheeran's Twitter on 17 March 2017. On 21 August 2017, Billboard announced that "Perfect" would be the fourth single from the album. "Happier" was released on 27 April 2018 as the album's fifth and final single. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.
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 L.A., 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.
Unveiled in tandem last Friday, the album's first singles "Shape Of You" and "Castle On The Hill" highlight a clear divide to his musical spectrum — the former being an inventive dismantling and rebuilding of modern-pop using little more than a loop pedal juxtaposed by a stadium-ready, rocker with hdriving beats and Springsteen-esque riffs. Together the two singles logged more than 13 million global streams in the first 24 hours, breaking Spotify's "Day 1" streaming record.
