Ed Sheeran sets the UK charts abuzz

T he big bang for 2017 has been set by Ed Sheeran. He has set the bar high was he has not only released two song simultaneously but also set a record by charting both songs at No’s 1 and 2 of the UK singles chart. ‘Shape Of You’ and ‘Castle On The Hill’ debuted on the singles chart at No’s 1 and 2 respectively. Thus Sheeran became the first solo musician to make that mark. His second record was streaming 13.4 million for the first week for ‘Shape Of You’ and 11.07 million streams for ‘Castle On The Hill’ (previous record holder Drake’s ‘One Dance’ had 8.9 million in the first week). The pop/ tropical house track ‘Shape Of You’ turned out to be the bigger appealing release as it secured a combined 227,000 to land straight at the No: 1 spot. The song also took his tally of No: 1’s on home ground to three. Sheeran has co-written ‘Shape Of You’ with Steve Mac and Johnny McDaid. Ed’s last UK No: 1 song was Thinking Out Loud’ in 2014.The song is pretty huge internationally too as it has already topped the chart in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Ed’s last UK No: 1 song was Thinking Out Loud’ in 2014.

Ed Sheeran’s other single ‘Castle On The Hill’ which refers to his hometown Framlingham in Suffolk is a folk pop by genre. It is a biographical song taking us back to the early days as a struggling teen. The track took a combined 194,000 copies to debut at the No: 2 spot on the singles chart. Ed has cowritten ‘Castle On The Hill with Benjamin Levin.

Meanwhile both songs released by Sheeran will be featured on his next album ‘÷’ (pronounced divide) which is due to come out on 3rd March. Preorders for the 12 track album opened on 13th January. Ed Sheeran is also head- 1 2 3 4 - Shape Of You – Ed Sheeran - Castle On The Hill – Ed Sheeran 2 Human – Rag ‘N’ Bone Man 1 Rockabye – Clean Bandit ft: Sean Paul & Anne- Marie 4 Touch – Little Mix 3 I Would Like – Zara Larsson 16 September Song – JP Cooper 26 You Don’t Know Me – Jax Jones & Raye 9 33 Call On Me – Starley 10 10 Just Hold On – Louis Tomlinson & Steve Akoi 5 6 7 8 ing for a carpool karaoke with the popular entertainer James Corden. A ustralian singer Starley made her debut on the UK top with her electropop song ‘Call On Me’ which climbed from 26 to No: 8. The 16 year old singer’s debut was released in October 2016, and taken nine weeks to reach the top 10, beginning its long journey at 89. ax Jones dance song ‘ You Don’t Know Me’ climbed from 33 to land on the top 10 at No: 9. The song features the vocals of Raye. Jax Jones has now released four songs of his own, but ‘ You Don’t Know Me’ has brought him solo recognition. Earlier he produced Duke Dumont’s No: 1 from 2014 ‘I Got U’. P op singer James Arthur has been slapped with a driving ban after he failed to pay a driving ticket. The former X-Factor winner was given a speeding ticket in June of 2016 but he did not pay. The driving ban will be for six months plus a £2000 fine and court fee of £225 by the magistrate of Willesden. Arthur had a big hit song called ‘Say You Won’t Let Go’ last year. S tatue of the late singer Cilla Black has been unveiled on January 16 outside the Cavern Club in Liverpool, where she worked and from

where her career took off.

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