÷ (album)
2017 studio album by Ed Sheeran / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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÷ ("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. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.[1][2] As of March 2024, the deluxe version of the album is the second most streamed album of all time on Spotify.[3]
÷ | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 3 March 2017 | |||
Recorded | Early 2015 – Late 2016 | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 46:14 59:27 (deluxe) | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | ||||
Ed Sheeran chronology | ||||
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Singles from ÷ | ||||
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The album was number one in the United Kingdom, selling 672,000 copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling album by a male solo artist there and the highest opening behind Adele's 25 and Oasis' Be Here Now. "Divide" topped the charts in over 25 territories across the globe, including the United States, Canada, and Australia. In April 2018, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry named ÷ the best-selling album worldwide of the year.[4] In October 2019, it was ranked the fifth best-selling album of the 21st century in the UK.[5]
All the tracks on the album reached the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart in the week of the album's release. The dominance of its tracks on the UK chart led to calls for change on how the single chart is compiled,[6] and the Official Charts Company then introduced new rules limiting tracks eligible for entry in the top 100 to three per the main artist, as well as adjusting the streams-to-sales ratio for older songs.[7] His fourth single from ÷, "Perfect", reached number one in the US, Australia and the UK, where it became the Christmas number one of 2017.
To promote the album, Sheeran embarked on a worldwide concert tour, entitled the ÷ Tour. Comprising 260 shows, it started on 16 March 2017 and ended on 26 August 2019 with the last of four homecoming gigs in Ipswich, Suffolk. By August 2019, it had become the biggest, most attended, and highest-grossing tour of all time.[8]