"Shape of You" 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 ...

. It was released on 6 January 2017 as one of the double lead singles from his third studio album '' ÷'' (2017), along with "

Castle on the Hill "Castle on the Hill" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was released on 6 January 2017 as one of the double lead singles from his third studio album '' ÷'' (2017), along with "Shape of You". "Castle on the Hill" was writt ...

". The

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

and R&B-infused pop song was written by Ed Sheeran, Steve Mac and

Johnny McDaid John McDaid (born 24 July 1976) is a singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer from Northern Ireland. He is a member of the band Snow Patrol and has written songs with other artists including Ed Sheeran, P!nk, and Robbie Williams. Early ...

. Due to its interpolation of "

No Scrubs "No Scrubs" is a song recorded by American girl group TLC as the lead single from their third studio album, ''FanMail'', on February 2, 1999, by LaFace Records and Arista Records. The song was written by producer Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, forme ...

" by

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

Kandi Burruss Kandi Lenice Burruss Tucker (born May 17, 1976), known professionally by her mononym Kandi, is an American producer, television personality, singer, songwriter and actress. She first gained notice in 1992 as a member of the female vocal group Xs ...

, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, and

Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs is an American record producer, known for producing the TLC #1 hit " No Scrubs" and various Destiny's Child songs from the album ''The Writing's on the Wall''. Briggs' then girlfriend, former Xscape singer Kandi Burrus ...

are also credited as writers. The song was produced by Sheeran and Mac. "Shape of You" peaked at number-one on the singles charts of 34 countries, including the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (later becoming the best performing song of 2017), as well as the UK, Australian and Canadian singles charts. It stayed at number one for a record-tying 16 consecutive weeks on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

, as well as 14 non-consecutive weeks 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 ...

, and 12 non-consecutive weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. On 10 December 2018, the song became the first song to hit 2 billion streams on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

and is currently the most streamed song on the service since 21 September 2017 when it surpassed "

One Dance "One Dance" is a song by Canadian rapper and singer Drake from his fourth studio album ''Views'' (2016). It features guest vocals from Nigerian afrobeats artist WizKid and British singer Kyla. The artists co-wrote the dancehall and afrobeats son ...

" by

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

as the most streamed song on Spotify. It was also the most-streamed song of the decade on

with 2.4 billion streams by December 2019. It was the best-selling song of 2017 and the decade in the UK. "Shape of You" was the best-selling song of 2017 and the second best-selling digital song worldwide, with combined sales and track-equivalent streams of 26.6 million units according to

IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 19 ...

. In 2018, it sold an additional 14.9 million copies, combining a total of 41.5 million copies worldwide with the previous total sales figure, making it one of the best selling digital singles of all time. Additionally, it made a second appearance in the ''Billboard'' year-end chart in 2018, at No. 71. In 2019, it was named the number-one song on the ''Billboard''

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

chart of the 2010s decade. "Shape of You" was nominated for British Single of the Year and

British Video of the Year The Brit Award for British Video of the Year was an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annua ...

at the 2018 Brit Awards. The song won the

Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance The Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guides, the Best Pop So ...

at the

60th Annual Grammy Awards The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeong ...

.60th GRAMMY Awards: Full Nominees List
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, 28 November 2017 In 2021, ''Billboard'' ranked "Shape of You" as the tenth most successful song of all-time.

Background

The song was the last song written for Sheeran's third album '' ÷''. As he had recently written all the songs he wanted for the album, the song was therefore not intended to be included in the album. It was conceived as a duet between Rihanna and

Rudimental Rudimental are a British drum and bass band, signed to Asylum Records, Atlantic Records and Black Butter Records. The band consists of Piers Aggett, Kesi Dryden and Leon "Locksmith" Rolle. They were nominated for a Mercury Prize in 2013, and ...

, but the head of the record label convinced him to keep the song for himself. He said:

" Shape of You'is actually a really random one because I went in to write songs for other people with a guy called Steve Mac and
Johnny McDaid John McDaid (born 24 July 1976) is a singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer from Northern Ireland. He is a member of the band Snow Patrol and has written songs with other artists including Ed Sheeran, P!nk, and Robbie Williams. Early ...
, and we were writing this song and I was like 'this would really work for Rihanna,'" he explained. "And then I started singing lyrics like 'putting Van the Man on the jukebox' and I was like 'well she's not really going to sing that, is she?' And then we sort of decided halfway through that we were just going to make it for me."

According to Sheeran, Steve Mac started the songwriting session by playing the opening notes of the song on the keyboard. Sheeran then joined in, adding percussion by tapping on the guitar, layering it onto the track. On the writing of the song, he said that he tried to keep the music "more stripped" instead of something more elaborate: "I'm an acoustic artist, first and foremost. And when I play live, I can't replicate these things, I haven't got all the other musicians." Sheeran said he wanted an R&B feel to the song, therefore he adjusted the original tune, adding an interpolation of "

" onto part of the melody. He also revealed that the original lyrics did not end with the words "the shape of you" in the chorus, but during the writing of the song, McDaid thought that the lyrics "I'm in love with your body" sounded objectifying, and the lyrics was therefore adjusted.

Release

On 6 January 2017, when hosting ''

The Radio 1 Breakfast Show ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' is a radio show that is broadcast across the UK on BBC Radio 1. It is hosted by Greg James since 20 August 2018 as the show's 16th presenter. The show ran six days a week until February 1968 (seBBC Genome Project, then fi ...

'', Sheeran revealed that "Shape of You" was written with

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

in mind. On 4 January 2017, Sheeran uploaded a six-second teaser video of a blue background to social media, with lyrics "the club isn't the best place to find a lover", which is the first line of "Shape of You". To further tease the release, Sheeran and his label used a sponsored

Snapchat Snapchat is an American multimedia instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of Snapchat is that pictures and messages are usually only available for a short time before the ...

lens filter with 30 seconds of the song to increase buzz among the general public.

Composition

"Shape of You" is a pop, and

song with "strummy acoustics." In the song, Sheeran sings over a

marimba The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbre ...

-fueled percussive sway about a budding romance. "The club isn't the best place to find a lover, so the bar is where I go/ Me and my friends at the table doing shots drinking fast and then we talk slow", he sings. "Come over and start up a conversation with just me/ And trust me I'll give it a chance." According to ''

NT News The ''Northern Territory News'' (also known and branded as the ''NT News'') is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published every week from Monday to Saturday. It prima ...

'', the song "tells the story of loved (or lusted) up Sheeran meeting a girl in a bar where he and his mates are doing shots." "Shape of You" is written in the key of

C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: : Cha ...

with a tempo of 96

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 is 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), and follows a basic

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

of Cm–Fm–A–B (i–iv–VI–VII), and Sheeran's vocals span from G₃ to G₅. It has a tresillo rhythm. The song's lyrical rhythm drew some comparisons to the

song "

", particularly in the pre-chorus line, "Boy, let's not talk too much/ Grab on my waist and put that body on me". Kandi Burruss had told Bravo’s Andy Cohen that the negotiations had started before the song's release for its interpolation but weren't finalized until afterwards. As a result, the composers of "No Scrubs",

, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, and

, received co-writing credits on "Shape of You".

Critical reception

Jon Caramanica Jon Caramanica (born 1975) is an American journalist and pop music critic who writes for ''The New York Times''. He is also known for writing about hip hop music. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, Caramanica received his ba ...

from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said, "'Shape of You' is trickier, a nimble and effective song that takes the aggressive thinning of '

Caribbean music Caribbean music genres are very diverse. They are each synthesis of African, European, Arab, Asian, and Indigenous influences, largely created by descendants of African slaves (see Afro-Caribbean music), along with contributions from other commun ...

'." ''

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 ...

''s Taylor Weatherby wrote about the song saying, "'Shape of You' doesn't quite sound like your typical Sheeran tune. But that almost serves as an indication of what the "

Thinking Out Loud "Thinking Out Loud" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, recorded for his second studio album, '' ×'' (2014). It was written by Sheeran and Amy Wadge, and produced by frequent collaborator Jake Gosling. It was released in the ...

" singer has been up to during his hiatus: creating music that still feels like Sheeran, just with a new twist." Jeremy Gordon of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' gave the song a positive review, stating that the song "is a plausible attempt at convincing us he has had

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...

... a lot of it. It kind of slaps, though you can't really picture Sheeran ever saying 'put that body on me' to a real human woman."

Commercial performance

"Shape of You" debuted at number one on the

on 13 January 2017, selling 227,000 combined units in its first week and becoming Sheeran's third UK number one. Sheeran also debuted at number two with the song "

", making him the first artist in UK chart history to debut in the top two positions simultaneously. It spent 13 consecutive weeks at number one, and a further week at the top after a week's interruption by

Harry Styles Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His musical career began in 2010 as a solo contestant on the British music competition series ''The X Factor (UK TV series), The X Factor''. Following hi ...

' " Sign of the Times". In July 2017, the song reached 184 million in streams, making it the most-streamed song in the UK of all time. It was the nation's highest selling and most streamed track of 2017 with 787,000 copies sold and 248 million streams throughout the year, to produce a combined sales of 3.2 million. In September 2020, the track was certified eight-times platinum by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

(BPI). "Shape of You" is Sheeran's best-selling single in the UK with total sales of 5.09 million units as of July 2021, according to the

Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

. The song debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, selling 240,000 downloads and gaining 20 million streams in its debut week in the US, becoming Sheeran's first number one song in the country. Sheeran also became the first artist to debut two songs in the top 10 the same week in the history of the Hot 100, with "Castle on the Hill" also debuting at number six. "Shape of You" topped the Hot 100 for 12 non-consecutive weeks. In its fourth week at number one, the song also topped the

, becoming Sheeran's second number-one single on the chart (after 2015's "

"). On 6 May 2017, it fell to number two on the Hot 100, being displaced by

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...

's " Humble". On the issue date, 2 September 2017, "Shape of You" spent its 32nd week in the top ten of Hot 100, tying the record for the most weeks on that chart with

LeAnn Rimes Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (born August 28, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She originally rose to success as a country music artist at age 13 with 1996's "Blue". She has since crossed over into pop, contemporary Chris ...

' "

How Do I Live "How Do I Live" is a song written by Diane Warren. It was performed by American singer, songwriter and actress LeAnn Rimes and the extended version of the song was later featured on her second studio album, '' You Light Up My Life: Inspiratio ...

" and

the Chainsmokers The Chainsmokers are an American electronic DJ and production duo consisting of Alexander "Alex" Pall and Andrew "Drew" Taggart. They started out by releasing remixes of songs by indie artists. The EDM- pop duo achieved a breakthrough with the ...

' " Closer" featuring Halsey. The following week, "Shape of You" spent its 33rd consecutive week in the top 10, breaking the 20-year-old record. This record would be tied twice and eventually broken in 2020 by

Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his variegated vocals, Malone has gained acclaim for blending genres and subgenres of hip ...

's "

Circles A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...

." On ''Billboard''s Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, "Shape of You" became Sheeran's first number one on a Dance/EDM chart (his third top ten and sixth overall at Dance/Mix Show Airplay) in the United States. Afterwards, the song topped

Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

in its 18 March 2017 issue, his first as a solo artist and his second entry on this chart, when he was a featured artist on

's " Lay It All on Me", which peaked at No. 38 in 2016. By August 2017, "Shape of You" was the best selling song of 2017 in the US with 2.3 million copies sold, the only one to sell over two million. It is also the most streamed song with 799.7 million combined audio and video streams. The song became the number one song of the year on ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 2017, and the second best-selling song in the US after "

Despacito "Despacito" (; "Slowly") is a song by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi featuring Puerto Rican rapper and singer Daddy Yankee as the lead single from Fonsi's 2019 studio album ''Vida''. Released on January 12, 2017, the song was written by Fonsi, ...

" with over 2.5 million copies sold. It debuted at number one in France, and was later certified diamond there. According to

Pure Charts Pure may refer to: Computing * A pure function * A pure virtual function * PureSystems, a family of computer systems introduced by IBM in 2012 * Pure Software, a company founded in 1991 by Reed Hastings to support the Purify tool * Pure-FTPd, F ...

, in the first half of the year 2017, the song reached 631,000 units (105,000 sales and 526,000 units from streams) and as of September 2017, it exceeds 812,109 units (707,109 from streams). It was the best-selling song (including streaming) in France this year. In

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, the song stayed at No. 1 for 15 weeks, breaking a record set 22 years ago by

Coolio Artis Leon Ivey Jr. (August 1, 1963 – September 28, 2022), known professionally as Coolio, was an American rapper. First rising to fame as a member of the gangsta rap group WC and the Maad Circle, Coolio achieved mainstream success as a solo ...

's "

Gangsta's Paradise "Gangsta's Paradise" is a single by American rapper Coolio. Interpolating Stevie Wonder's 1976 song "Pastime Paradise", and featuring American singer L.V., the single was released on August 1, 1995. Certified Platinum in October, the song wa ...

". In doing this, it also broke ABBA's record of fourteen weeks at number one, which was set on the previous Australian charts before the ARIA charts became Australia's official charts. "Shape of You" was also Australia's highest selling song of 2017 with 630,000 copies sold by the end of the year. The song is the first ever number one single of the now-defunct

Philippine Hot 100 ''Billboard'' Philippines (also known and stylized as ''billboardPH'') was a music media brand owned by Algo-Rhythm Communications in partnership with '' Billboard''. It was announced in June 2016 and officially launched on September 15, 2016. ...

upon the chart's inception on 12 June 2017. It stayed at the peak position for 4 consecutive weeks before it was dethroned by "

" by

Luis Fonsi Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero (born April 15, 1978), known by his stage name Luis Fonsi (), is a Puerto Rican singer. He is known for multiple songs, one of them being "Despacito" featuring rapper Daddy Yankee. Fonsi received his first ...

and

Daddy Yankee Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (born February 3, 1976), known professionally as Daddy Yankee, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, composer, and actor. Known as the " King of Reggaetón" by music critics and fans alike, he is the artist who coined ...

featuring

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

. Worldwide, the song reached one billion streams on

in June 2017. It became the most streamed song on Spotify in September 2017, reaching 1,318,420,396 streams overtaking

's "

". It became the first song to reach 2 billions in streams on Spotify in 2018, and it was the most-streamed song of the decade on Spotify, with 2.4 billion streams in the 2010s. On 22 December 2021, "Shape of You" became Spotify's first song to hit 3 billion streams. In August 2018, ''Billboard'' published a new edition of the "Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Singles" chart, its list of the 100 best-performing songs in the history of the Hot 100. "Shape of You" was ranked at number nine, the third-highest position of any song released in the 2010s (behind only "

Uptown Funk "Uptown Funk" is a song by British record producer Mark Ronson from his fourth studio album, ''Uptown Special'' (2015), featuring American singer and songwriter Bruno Mars. It was released as the album's lead single on 10 November 2014 via dow ...

" by

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, Robbi ...

featuring

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical s ...

and "

Party Rock Anthem "Party Rock Anthem" is a song by American music duo LMFAO, featuring British singer Lauren Bennett and American music producer GoonRock. It was released as the first single from their second album '' Sorry for Party Rocking'' in 2011. The sin ...

" by

LMFAO LMFAO (an initialism for Laughing My Freaking Ass Off or Laughing My Fucking Ass Off) are an American electronic dance music duo consisting of Redfoo and Sky Blu. Redfoo is the youngest son of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy and Nancy Le ...

featuring

Lauren Bennett Lauren Diane Bennett (born 23 June 1989) is an English singer who is known for being a member of the girl group G.R.L. Bennett has also worked with the Paradiso Girls, CeeLo Green, Robin Antin, The Pussycat Dolls, and LMFAO. She was featured on ...

and

GoonRock David Jamahl Listenbee, better known by his stage name GoonRock, is an American record producer, musician, singer, songwriter and rapper. Raised in Los Angeles, California, early in his career he focused on hip hop and sold beats to artists suc ...

). On November 23, 2021, ''Billboard'' published an updated edition of the "Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Singles" chart from 2018 where "Shape of You" is currently ranked the #10 Greatest Hot 100 Hit of All Time following the induction of

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, Romance (love), ...

's 2019 single "

Blinding Lights "Blinding Lights" is a song by Canadian singer the Weeknd. It was released on November 29, 2019, through XO and Republic Records, as the second single from his fourth studio album, '' After Hours'' (2020). The song was written and produced by ...

" which currently holds the #1 position.

Copyright trial

In March 2022, Sheeran was taken to court by musicians Sami Chokri and Ross O'Donoghue who allege "Shape of You" infringes "particular lines and phrases" of their 2015 composition "Oh Why". Sheeran and his co-writers, Steven McCutcheon and John McDaid, have been barred by music licensing body

PRS for Music PRS for Music Limited (formerly The MCPS-PRS Alliance Limited) is a British music copyright collective, made up of two collection societies: the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and the Performing Right Society (PRS). It undertakes ...

from collecting an estimated £20m in royalties from the performances or broadcasts of "Shape of You". Legal proceedings began in May 2018, with Sheeran and his co-writers asking the high court to declare they had not infringed Chokri and O'Donoghue's copyright. Two months later, Chokri and O'Donoghue issued their own claim for "copyright infringement, damages and an account of profits in relation to the alleged infringement". On 6 April 2022, the judge ruled that Sheeran had "neither deliberately nor subconsciously copied" Chokri's song. While there were "similarities between the one-bar phrase", the judge said that "differences between the relevant parts" of the songs were "compelling evidence that the 'Oh I' phrase" in Sheeran's song "originated from sources other than Oh Why". After the win, Sheeran said: "I feel like claims like this are way too common now and have become a culture where a claim is made with the idea that a settlement will be cheaper than taking it to court, even if there's no basis for the claim. It's really damaging to the songwriting industry. There's only so many notes and very few chords used in pop music. Coincidence is bound to happen if 60,000 songs are being released every day on Spotify. That's 22 million songs a year, and there's only 12 notes that are available."

Lyric video

On 5 January 2017, to accompany the song's release, a lyric video for "Shape of You" was released on 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 ...

channel with "Castle on the Hill". As of April 2022, the official lyric video has had 915 million views on YouTube.

Music video

Release

On 30 January 2017, the official

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

of the song, starring US dancer and model Jennie Pegouskie and retired professional

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

wrestler

Yamamotoyama Ryūta , known by his ''shikona'' , or simply Yama, is a Japanese retired sumo wrestler from the city of Saitama in Saitama Prefecture. He made his professional debut in January 2007, and reached the top ''makuuchi'' division in January 2009. His hi ...

(credited as "Yama"), was released on Sheeran's channel. It was shot in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, and was directed by Jason Koenig who also directed Sheeran's fourth single " Perfect" from his studio album " ÷".

Synopsis

The music video opens with Ed Sheeran who is first seen sitting down in a lonely dark room save for the

sunlight Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when t ...

that shines beside him with footages featuring his love interest and fellow boxer (Jennie Pegouskie) and his upcoming match. As the song begins, we see Sheeran

shadowboxing Shadowboxing is a combat sport exercise in which a person throws punches at the air as though there is an opponent. Practised primarily in boxing, it is used mainly to prepare the muscles before the person training engages in stronger physical ...

while Pegouskie is already at the

gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...

ready for the workout. She hangs herself at the

punching bag A punching bag (or, British English, punchbag) is a sturdy bag designed to be repeatedly punched. A punching bag is usually cylindrical, and filled with various materials of suitable hardness. History Punching bags have been used in martial ar ...

doing

sit-up The sit-up (or curl-up) is an abdominal endurance training exercise to strengthen, tighten and tone the abdominal muscles. It is similar to a crunch (crunches target the rectus abdominis and also work the external and internal obliques), but si ...

and stretches herself. A little while later, Pegouskie shadowboxes and punches a punching bag when Sheeran lately arrives at the training carrying a bag with him. After Sheeran places his bag at the closet, he proceeds to train himself for his upcoming match trained by a

personal trainer A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for apparently healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, p ...

along with Pegouskie who still warms up herself. Later, Sheeran and Pegouskie head out of the gym towards a

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

while bonding each other. Upon arriving, the couple eat and shared foods like canoodling over a fried chicken as they have an intimate conversation with each other, although their

dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is c ...

is entirely mute. Afterwards, Sheeran and his girlfriend ride a

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

and

make out Making out is a term of American origin dating back to at least 1949, and is used to refer to kissing, including extended French kissing or heavy kissing of the neck (called ''necking''), or to acts of non-penetrative sex such as heavy petti ...

at the back seat while the taxi driver does not notice this as he is focusing on driving. Back at the gym, Sheeran and Pegouskie physically trained hard doing various training exercises. While training, the couple embraced each other and teach one other, eventually falling in love with each other in the process. Later, Pegouskie leaves a picture and a box to Sheeran in a closet and seemingly abandons him. The scene cuts back to Sheeran who discovers a picture and a black box both seen earlier with the latter containing a blue

mouthguard A mouthguard is a protective device for the mouth that covers the teeth and gums to prevent and reduce injury to the teeth, arches, lips and gums. An effective mouthguard is like a crash helmet for teeth and jaws. It also prevents the jaws com ...

featuring a "÷" symbol at the front. Realizing that his girlfriend had left him (unbeknownst to him, she already is at a

passenger ship A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

), He starts to search for her to no avail. In response to her disappointing departure, Sheeran lets out his frustration and proceeds to an intense workout that includes tire-flipping, shadowboxing, sit-up,

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

and

push-up The push-up (sometimes called a press-up in British English) is a common calisthenics exercise beginning from the prone position. By raising and lowering the body using the arms, push-ups exercise the pectoral muscles, triceps, and anterio ...

. Later, Sheeran participates a match he has anticipated throughout the clip but he unexpectedly encounters a

Rikishi A , or, more colloquially, , is a professional sumo wrestler. follow and live by the centuries-old rules of the sumo profession, with most coming from Japan, the only country where sumo is practiced professionally. Participation in official t ...

or a sumo wrestler (Yamamotoyama Ryūta), much to his shock. During the match, Sheeran is seen almost always avoiding Yama who constantly chases him and the latter fails to defeat the Rikishi. Sheeran ends up getting defeated and is thrown at the edge of the

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

crying in agony with the crowd encouraging him to stand up. Towards the end of the video, Yama wins the match but Pegouskie emerges the scene among the crowd flying into the ring with a karate kick in the air aiming towards Yama as the scene cuts to black with the text that reads “DIRECTED BY: JASON KOENIG”. Sheeran is last seen at the end of the music video struggling to get up while lying down on the floor but he fails to do so.

Reception

On 8 May 2017, 97 days after its release, it became one of the fastest music videos to reach 1 billion views on YouTube, and as of May 2022, the music video has over 5.7 billion views on the site and is the site's fourth most-watched video as well as the second most-watched music video.

Live performances

Sheeran performed "Shape of You" on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' on 11 February 2017 and at the

59th Annual Grammy Awards The 59th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 12, 2017. The CBS network broadcast the show live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, ...

the following day. On 27 February, Sheeran performed the song on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

'', with Fallon and

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

, who used classroom instruments. On 6 July, Sheeran performed the track on US

breakfast television Breakfast television (Europe, Canada, and Australia) or morning show (United States) is a type of news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts live in the morning (typically scheduled between 5:00 and 10:00a.m., or if it is a ...

show ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

''. On 27 August, Sheeran performed "Shape of You" at

2017 MTV Video Music Awards The 2017 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 27, 2017 at The Forum in Inglewood, California, honoring music videos released between June 25, 2016 and June 23, 2017. It was hosted by Katy Perry. The 34th annual award show aired live from th ...

in a medley with

Lil Uzi Vert Symere Bysil Woods ( ; born July 31, 1995), known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. They are characterized by their face tattoo, facial tattoos, facial piercings, eccentric hairstyles and androgynous ...

and his song "

XO Tour Llif3 "XO Tour Llif3" (stylized as "XO TOUR Llif3" and pronounced "XO Tour Life") is a single by American rapper Lil Uzi Vert from the extended play '' Luv Is Rage 1.5'' (2017) and debut album ''Luv Is Rage 2'' (2017). It was released on SoundCloud on ...

". At the

NRJ Music Awards An NRJ Music Award (commonly abbreviated as an NMA) is an award presented by the French radio station NRJ to honor the best in the French and worldwide music industry. The awards ceremony, created in 2000 by NRJ in partnership with the televisi ...

2017 on 4 November, he performed "Shape of You" in a medley with

Soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

and his song " Fresh Prince".

Remixes and covers

The official remix of "Shape of You" features newly additional verses and guest vocals by English

grime Grime may refer to: * Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust * Grime (music genre), a genre of music * ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity * ''Grime'' (video game), a 2021 Metroidvania video game * "Grime", a 2022 song by Dallas Woo ...

artist

Stormzy Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. (born 26 July 1993), known professionally as Stormzy, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter. In 2014, he gained attention on the UK underground music scene through his ''Wicked Skengman'' series of f ...

. The remix premiered during Sheeran and Stormzy's live collaboration at the 2017 Brit Awards at

The O2 The O2 is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, piazzas, bars, and restaurants. It was built largely within ...

in London on 22 February 2017. Sheeran announced on Twitter that the remix would be released officially on 24 February 2017. On the same date, various remixes of the song were released on digital music services. Sheeran teased the releases ahead of 2017 Brit Awards ceremony. "I've got two things dropping on Friday that are pretty interesting", he revealed in a BBC Radio 1 interview just hours before the big show. "One that gets debuted at the Brits, which I think people will go a bit nuts for." He added, "It's something that I think nobody is expecting. I think it'll be decent."

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. It originates from Kingston, Jamaica, and was founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after t ...

released his own remix entitled "Shape of You (Major Lazer Remix)" on 27 February 2017. It featured vocals by the Jamaican singer

Nyla Nailah Thorbourne (Born 27 November 1983), better known by her stage name Nyla, is a Jamaican singer and songwriter from Kingston, Jamaica. Nyla was a member of the R&B and reggae duo Brick & Lace whose debut album, ''Love Is Wicked'', was re ...

and the Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist

Kranium Kemar Donaldson popularly known as Kranium, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall singer known for his 2013 hit single "Nobody Has To Know" which gave him an international recognition and led him to the Atlantic Records record label. Personal li ...

. In the United States, "Shape of You" has immediately become a favourite among DJs and remixers, prompting several of them to create their own versions. One DJ, Joe "Maz" Masurka, told ''Billboard'' that after he did his own remix on the single that he received a lot of great feedback and response: "... the dance floor loves it." In September 2018, Ndlovu Youth Choir and Wouter Kellerman released "Shape of You" in Zulu version.

In other media

In March 2017, a

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

woman Sonia Bryce was imprisoned for two months for

noise pollution Noise pollution, also known as environmental noise or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise with ranging impacts on the activity of human or animal life, most of them are harmful to a degree. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is main ...

after repeatedly playing "Shape of You" at a high volume. English singer

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery ...

performed "Shape of You" in drag as Sheeran on the US television series ''

Lip Sync Battle ''Lip Sync Battle'' is an American musical reality competition television series that premiered on April 2, 2015, on the American cable network Spike, later known as Paramount Network. The show is based on an idea by Stephen Merchant and John K ...

'' in March 2018. The song is featured on the dance rhythm game, ''

Just Dance 2018 ''Just Dance 2018'' is a 2017 dance rhythm game developed and published by Ubisoft. It was unveiled on June 12, 2017, during its E3 press conference as the ninth main installment of the series, and was released in October 2017 for PlayStation 3, ...

''. It was featured and remixed in '' YouTube Rewind: The Shape of 2017''. The song is also used in an episode in the French version of ''Skam''.

Pentatonix Pentatonix (abbreviated PTX) is an American a cappella group from Arlington, Texas, currently consisting of vocalists Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Kirstin Maldonado, Kevin Olusola, and Matt Sallee. Characterized by their pop-style arrangements ...

covered the song as a mash-up with "

" for their 2018 album '' PTX Presents: Top Pop, Vol. I''. Likewise, the song was covered by Hawaiian ukulele artist

Jake Shimabukuro Jake Shimabukuro (born November 3, 1976) is a Hawaiian ukulele virtuoso and composer known for his fast and complex finger work. His music combines elements of jazz, blues, funk, rock, bluegrass, classical, folk, and flamenco. Shimabukuro has writt ...

for his 2018 album, ''The Greatest Day''. The song appears often in the Japanese drama 僕たちがやりました(We Did It/Fugitive Boys). M&S used the song in their food adverts from 2017 to 2019. It also serves as the singer ( Sheeran's) ringtone in '' Yesterday''. The song also has been covered by

Postmodern Jukebox Postmodern Jukebox, also widely known by the initialism PMJ, is a rotating musical collective founded by arranger and pianist Scott Bradlee in 2011. PMJ is known for reworking popular modern music into different vintage genres, especially early ...

, done as a

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

-style 1970s number, guest starring

Stefano Langone Stefano Langone (; born February 27, 1989), known as Stefano in his recording career, is an American singer and musician from Kent, Washington. Langone placed seventh on the tenth season of ''American Idol''. Post American Idol, Stefano Lango ...

on lead vocals. The video amassed three million views. "Shape of You" has also been referenced in

Doja Cat Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini (born October 21, 1995), known professionally as Doja Cat ( ), is an American rapper and singer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began making and releasing music on SoundCloud as a teenager. Her song ...

's "

Get Into It (Yuh) "Get Into It (Yuh)" is a song by American rapper and singer Doja Cat from her third studio album ''Planet Her'' (2021). It was released through Kemosabe and RCA Records alongside the parent album as an album track. Following the album's release, ...

", from the album ''

Planet Her ''Planet Her'' is the third studio album by American rapper and singer Doja Cat. It was released on June 25, 2021, by Kemosabe Records, Kemosabe and RCA Records. The album, titled after a Planets in science fiction, fictional planet created by D ...

'' (2021).

Formats and track listings

*Digital download and streaming #"Shape of You" – 3:53 *Digital download and streaming –

Galantis Galantis is a Swedish electronic dance music production, songwriting and DJ duo consisting of Christian Karlsson (DJ), Christian Karlsson and Style of Eye, Linus Eklöw. Karlsson is also known as Bloodshy as part of two other musical groups, a d ...

Remix #"Shape of You" (Galantis Remix) – 3:15 *Digital download and streaming – Acoustic #"Shape of You" (Acoustic) – 3:43 *Digital download and streaming –

Remix #"Shape of You" (Stormzy Remix) – 3:51 *Digital download and streaming –

Remix #"Shape of You" (featuring

and Kramium) ajor Lazer Remixnbsp;– 3:12 *Digital download and streaming – Latin Remix #"Shape of You" (featuring

Zion & Lennox Zion & Lennox are a reggaeton music duo from Carolina, Puerto Rico. In 2004, Zion & Lennox released their first studio album titled ''Motivando A La Yal'' under White Lion Records. After their first album, Zion & Lennox decided to start their own ...

) atin Remixnbsp;– 3:57 *Digital download and streaming –

Yxng Bane Larry Cummings Kiala, better known by his stage name Yxng Bane (pronounced "young bane"), is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from East London. Early and personal life Kiala grew up in Custom House, an industrial district of East London' ...

Remix #"Shape of You" (Yxng Bane Remix) – 4:25 *Digital download and streaming –

NOTD NOTD (pronounced "noted") is a Swedish musical production duo composed of Tobias Danielsson and Samuel Brandt. They are best known for their songs " I Wanna Know" featuring Bea Miller and " So Close" with Felix Jaehn featuring Captain Cuts and G ...

Remix #"Shape of You" (NOTD Remix) – 3:10 *

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

#"Shape of You" – 3:53 #"Shape of You" (Acoustic) – 3:43

Credits and personnel

Credits and personnel adapted from ''÷'' album

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

. Recording *Recorded at Rokstone Studios (London) and Gingerbread Man Studios (

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

and London) *Mixed at The Mixsuite (

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

and Los Angeles) *Mastered at Metropolis Mastering (London) Personnel *

– songwriter, lead vocals, background vocals, co-producer, percussion *

– songwriter, guitars * Steve Mac – songwriter, producer, keyboards *

– songwriter *

Tameka Cottle Tameka Dianne Cottle Harris (born July 14, 1975), known professionally by her nickname Tiny, is an American singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the multi-platinum R&B vocal group Xscape. She received a Grammy Award ...

– songwriter *Dann Pursey –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

*Chris Laws – engineering, drums *Joe Rubel – engineering *

Mark "Spike" Stent Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed She ...

– mixing *Geoff Swan – mixing assistant *Michael Freeman – mixing assistant *Wayne Hernandez – background vocals *Travis Cole – background vocals *Geo Gabriel – background vocals *Stuart Hawkes – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

References

External links

Background

Release

Composition

Critical reception

Commercial performance

Copyright trial

Lyric video

Music video

Release

Synopsis

Reception

Live performances

Remixes and covers

In other media

Formats and track listings

Credits and personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

See also

References

External links