"Happier" is a song by English singer-songwriter
Ed Sheeran
Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...
. The song was written by Sheeran along with
Ryan Tedder
Ryan Tedder (born June 26, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. As well as being the lead vocalist of the pop rock band OneRepublic, he has an independent career as a songwriter and producer for various artists since th ...
and
Benny Blanco
Benjamin Joseph Levin (born March 8, 1988), known professionally as Benny Blanco (stylized in all lowercase), is an American record producer. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also ...
. It was included on his third studio album, ''
÷'' (2017).
After the album's release, it charted at number 6 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
.
It was released in Italy on 27 April 2018 as the fourth (fifth overall) and the final single from the album.
Composition
According to Sheeran, the theme of the song is about looking back at an early relationship and, despite being initially angry and bitter at the breakup, later coming to realise that his first love was happier with someone else. He said: "I remember the first girl I was with, that the first and most of the second album was about, that I was with from school. And I remember the guy she was with, meeting him one day and being like, he is so much suited to her than I ever was. Seeing them together they were happy together, we never looked like that, we were never that couple, we were never that happy. So it was having a kind of epiphany moment, and writing a song that was basically that."
"Happier" was written in the key of
C major
C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...
with a tempo of 90
beats per minute
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery ( ...
. The song was composed in
common time
The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
( time).
Critical reception
Taylor Weatherby of ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' described it as the "most heartbreaking track" and "perhaps one of the prettiest songs" on the album. She noted the track's melodic similarity to
Sam Smith
Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...
's 2014 songs "
Stay with Me" and "
Like I Can
"Like I Can" is a song by English singer Sam Smith. It was released as a digital download on 5 December 2014 as the fifth single from their debut studio album, ''In the Lonely Hour'' (2014). The song was written by Smith and Matt Prime and prod ...
".
Music video
The official video for "Happier" was released on Ed Sheeran's
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
account on 27 April 2018.
It was directed by
Emil Nava
Emil William Capper Nava (born 29 March 1985) is a British music video director.
After leaving school at 16, Emil started his career as a chef. He shot to fame after directing Jessie J's song " Do It Like A Dude". He has since directed over 1 ...
, and features a puppet caricature of Sheeran from the music video of his single "
Sing
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
" sad about the other is about his balloon girlfriend with another puppet and ends with the balloon girl flying away.
Formats and track listings
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
{{authority control
2017 songs
2018 singles
Ed Sheeran songs
Song recordings produced by Benny Blanco
Songs written by Benny Blanco
Songs written by Ed Sheeran
Songs written by Ryan Tedder
Music videos featuring puppetry
Asylum Records singles
Atlantic Records singles
Pop ballads
2010s ballads