Ed Sheeran, who is visiting Manila next month for a concert at the Mall of Asia Arena, was named the biggest-selling global artist of 2017 early this week by The IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year Award, the organization that represents the recorded music industry worldwide.
producer Ed Sheeran is named best-selling global artist of 2017.
The 27-year-old singer/songwriter and record producer beat global music superstars like Drake (who was given the same award in 2016), Taylor Swift (awardee in 2014), Kendrick Lamar and Bruno Mars, all thanks to his record-breaking LP, Divide.
Past recipients of The IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year Award were British singer-songwriter Adele (2015) and boy band One Direction (2013).
“Being crowned the biggest star in the world, with the biggest song and biggest album, is the result of years of ambition, creativity, and hard work on a global scale,” said Max Lousada, CEO of recorded music for Warner Music Group, and chairman and CEO of Warner Music UK.
He added that Sheeran is an incredible songwriter, vocalist and performer, whose ability to tell stories and make people feel is what stands him out from the crowd.
In line with this career milestone, let’s have a run-down of Ed Sheeran’s biggest hits in 2017 that further cemented his status as a global music superstar.
Shape of You
The song peaked at no. 1 on the singles charts of 44 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. On 21 Sept. 2017 it became the most streamed song on Spotify, with over 1.32 billion streams.
Perfect
It debuted at no. 4 on the UK Singles Chart and eventually reached no. 1 as well as on the Billboard Hot 100. It also peaked at no. 1 in sixteen other countries, including Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. The song was rerecorded with a duet with Beyoncé and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. The single became the UK Christmas no. 1 song for 2017.
Castle on the Hill
It debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart selling 193,000 combined units in its first week. The song remained at no. 2 on its second week, selling additional 100,000 units. The song spent a further three weeks at no. 2, and spent fourteen weeks in the top 10 altogether. As of September 2017, the song has sold 1.7 million combined units in the UK, 479,000 of these are actual sales, with 119 million streams.
Galway Girl
The song entered the UK chart at no. 2 behind “Shape of You” when it became available for download on the album release. The song has sold 1.2 million combined units in the United Kingdom, with 246,000 in actual sales and 95 million in streams.
Eraser
This song charted at no. 14 on the UK Singles Chart, despite not being an official single. It went Platinum in Ireland and Gold in Canada and the UK.