You don't have to be a mathematician to figure out Ed Sheeran's album formula. His break-out hit album, "+", added his name to the number 1 spot in the U.K. and a not-too-shabby 5th spot in the U.S. charts. In 2014 the singer released "x", multiplying his success instantly to reach the top spot on the Billboard 200.
After a whole year of diving his time between Taylor Swift and his new album, he's been non-existent on Twitter. Looks like the time division paid off because the singer dropped all 16 tracks of his latest album, "÷", at midnight.
All the singles, ladies
Sheeran has been tempting fans with single releases for weeks, releasing leading singles “Shape of You,” “Eraser,” and “How Would You Feel”. Spotify users responded so well to these releases that it broke streaming records on the 100-million-subscriber-strong service.
“Shape of You” wasted no time in flooding the top of the charts. Since January 6th the song has topped the Billboard 100 for 5 weeks running, as well as claiming the most coveted spot on the U.S., United Kingdom and Australian charts for a whopping seven weeks so far.
“Castle on the Hill” is another early favorite and, together with “Shape of You” and “How Would You Feel”, took the top 3 spots on the ARIA Singles Chart this week – an achievement that has only ever been shared by the Beatles and Karise Eden.
Delayed release because of Trump
Initially, Ed Sheeran's album was due to debut in November last year, but the release was postponed amid fears that the 2016 Presidential Election drama would overshadow or distract from any possible hype for the event.
Shortly after the election, Bruno Mars dropped his latest album, followed by The Weekend doing the same.
Sheeran decided to postpone his own big reveal until now, just in time to benefit from the hype around Spotify's announcement that it now has 50 million paying subscribers.
Sheeran spoils Swift's surprise
While speaking to the BBC about the highs and lows of his career so far, Sheeran let it slip that girlfriend Taylor Swift won't be releasing anything new until the end of this year.
A smart move, he says, just in time for Christmas. Hopefully, Taylor won't be making him sleep on the couch for spilling the beans. For now, Ed can look forward to a year of undivided attention for "÷".
Ed Sheeran's album "÷" is available on Apple Music, iTunes, and Spotify.
