"Tenerife Sea" 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 written by Sheeran,

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 ...

Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. They consist of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (musician), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, ...

, and

Foy Vance Foy Vance (born 1974) is a musician and singer-songwriter from Northern Ireland signed to Ed Sheeran's Gingerbread Man label. Vance has toured as a support act to British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran and his music has been featured on numerous ...

, and produced by

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popula ...

. The song was released on 20 June 2014 as part of his second studio album, '' x''. It entered 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 ...

at number 93 and peaked at number 62.

Background and composition

Sheeran wrote "Tenerife Sea" while in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, the capital of the US state of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. It was inspired by the events following the

2013 Grammy Awards The 55th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 10, 2013, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2011 through September 30, 2012. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. E ...

, wherein his single "

The A Team ''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court marti ...

" was nominated for Song of the Year, a first Grammy nomination for Sheeran. He lost the award to the American band

Fun Fun is defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "Light-hearted pleasure, enjoyment, or amusement; boisterous joviality or merrymaking; entertainment". Etymology and usage The word ''fun'' is associated with sports, entertaining medi ...

for its song "

We Are Young "We Are Young" is a song recorded by American band Fun, featuring American singer Janelle Monáe. It is the third track on the group's second studio album, '' Some Nights'' (2012). The song was released on September 20, 2011 as the lead singl ...

". Along with his girlfriend, Sheeran attended the after-party where he, being in a new experience, felt uninterested participating in the conversations. According to Sheeran, "neither of

hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...

wanted to be there – you just want to be with this one person". He also told ''

The San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...

'': "It was a very odd atmosphere, where everyone was out for themselves. And I found myself being competitive, as well, and pissed off that I didn’t win, which felt very unhealthy." Vilaflor

"Tenerife Sea" is a love song, in which Sheeran's vocals are multi-tracked. Randall Roberts of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' likened the song to that of

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

's 1977 ballad "

Wonderful Tonight "Wonderful Tonight" is a ballad written by Eric Clapton. It was included on Clapton's 1977 album ''Slowhand''. Clapton wrote the song about Pattie Boyd. "the hard-rock pioneer and guitar god also become a soft-rock star in the mid-1970s. He cel ...

" and

Ginuwine Elgin Baylor Lumpkin (born October 15, 1970), better known by his stage name Ginuwine, is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. He began his career as a member of Swing Mob in the early 1990s. Signing to Epic R ...

's "

In Those Jeans "In Those Jeans" a song by United States, American singer Ginuwine. It was written by Harvey "The Rook" Hester along with the singer for his fourth studio album ''The Senior'' (2003), while production was helmed by Jerry "Juke" Vines, featuring co- ...

". The song's title is a reference to

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

of Spain. According to Sheeran, the hue of his lady's eyes are as blue as the seas in Tenerife, "seriously blue, like electric blue". The lyrics speak of Sheeran's girlfriend at the time, "Beth", who he thinks of as "really pretty" in her dress. Despite rumours, the song is not actually related to fellow singer-songwriter

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

Debut and response

"Tenerife Sea" was released on 20 June 2014 as part of Sheeran's second studio album, '' x'', serving as its eighth track. However, the song had been performed live in both the US and Sheeran's home country prior to the parent album's release. In the US, Sheeran performed "Tenerife Sea" in October 2013 at a concert in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

. He also sang "Tenerife Sea" at an intimate NYC-based

Mercury Lounge The Mercury Lounge is a live music venue in the Lower East Side of New York City. Like its brother venue The Bowery Ballroom, The Mercury Lounge is celebrated as an iconic indie venue due to its acoustics, its fostering and even launching of up ...

show, where he performed two other new songs, although recording was not allowed. On 24 March 2014, Sheeran debuted the song at London's

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

for the Teenage Cancer Trust benefit show. Few British media noted the song, which was thought of hinting at the same musical style Sheeran would be taking for his then-unreleased second album. The song was particularly popular in

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

services on theme-specific playlists. In April 2015, commercial streaming company

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 ...

released a report of the most-streamed tracks worldwide under the category sleep. "Tenerife Sea" is placed at number 14, joining Sheeran's other 6 songs ranked in the top 20. Sleep is one of Spotify's most popular categories "that people also use for general relaxation and to help themselves unwind". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' columnist

Tim Dowling Robert Timothy Dowling (; born June 1963) is an American journalist and author who writes a weekly column in ''The Guardian'' about his life with his family in London. Career Dowling worked in data entry for a films database before he became a fr ...

suggests that the report is an indication of "very popular, slightly mellow songs that keep cropping up on sleep playlists" but not a list of a "carefully curated journey to unconsciousness". In June 2015, Spotify compiled the most popular

first dance A first dance A first dance is the opening dance in various traditions. First Dance may refer to: * ''First Dance'' (EP), a 1995 EP by Michael Bublé * "First Dance" (song), a 2009 song by Justin Bieber * '' The First Dance'', a 2009 album by Br ...

songs based on an analysis of 400,000 wedding playlists worldwide. "Tenerife Sea" was the fifth most popular.

Critical and commercial reception

"Tenerife Sea" was noted by critics and journalists. In an article written for Valentine's Day, Marika Azzopardi of ''

The Malta Independent ''The Malta Independent'' is a national newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide v ...

'' compiled "some great moments of love in the arts", including "Tenerife Sea" among other songs. Azzopardi writes that Sheeran "goes all soft and summery" with the song. Jon Caramanica of ''

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 ...

'' called "Tenerife Sea" an "unreserved love song". Allison Stewart of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' noted Sheeran's layered vocals, writing: "'Tenerife Sea' is lush and gorgeous, its vocals stacked to the heavens." Jim Beviglia of the ''

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

'' thought that although "tidy", "Tenerife Sea" comes "toothless" compared with the "daring confessionals" Sheeran made in the album's other tracks. Jon Dolan of the ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' called "Tenerife Sea" an "oversweet ballad". Jason Lipshutz 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 ...

'' had the same thought, calling it a "sticky-sweet" wedding song. Writing for ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'', Lauren Murphy noted that the album's few songs, including "Tenerife Sea", are "simply dull". Kitty Empire of ''

'' thinks that the song "dwells at simpering length on how wonderful a girl looks in her dress". Due to high streaming rates, all of the album's 12 tracks, including "Tenerife Sea", entered the

. The song debuted at number 93, has peaked at number 62 and spent 7 weeks on the chart. Elsewhere, "Tenerife Sea" peaked at number 53 in Ireland and number 86 in Slovakia. Although it did not appear in the overall singles chart in the US, "Tenerife Sea" entered at number 24 on the ''Billboard'' Twitter Top Tracks chart. This chart activity is ascribed to the acoustic

version Version may refer to: Computing * Software version, a set of numbers that identify a unique evolution of a computer program * VERSION (CONFIG.SYS directive), a configuration directive in FreeDOS Music * Cover version * Dub version * Remix * ''Ve ...

performed by Jame McVey, guitarist of the British pop group The Vamps, whose video was uploaded in YouTube.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from ''x'' album liner notes: *

– vocals, songwriting, guitar *

– songwriting, keys *

– songwriting *

– production *Jason Lader – recording, bass, keys *Sean Oakley – additional recording, recording assistance, digital editing *Joshua Smith – recording assistance *Eric Lynn – recording assistance, keys *Dace Hanych – production coordination *Ricardo Kim – production assistance *Johnnie Burik – production assistance *Eric Cardieux – digital editing *Christian "Leggy" Langdon – digital editing * Mike "Spike" Stent – mixing *Geoff Swan – engineering *Blake Mills – guitar *Adam MacDougall – keys *Chris Dave – drums *Lenny Castro – percussion *Luis Conte – percussion *Stuart Hawkes – mastering

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2014 songs Ed Sheeran songs Song recordings produced by Rick Rubin Songs written by Ed Sheeran Songs written by Johnny McDaid Songs written by Foy Vance