Ed Sheeran hit #1 with "Perfect"

Perfect Ed Sheeran with Beyoncé

Writer(s): Ed Sheeran (see lyrics here) Released: September 26, 2017 First Charted: March 25, 2017 Peak: 16 US, 19 BA, 18 DG, 11 ST, 12 RR, 122 AC, 19 A40, 16 UK, 16 CN, 18 AU, 12 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 2.4 UK, 21.4 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 4.0 radio, 4807.0 video, 2548.03 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “Perfect” first hit the charts in March 2017 when Ed Sheeran’s third studio album, Divide (÷) was released. All sixteen of the album’s tracks debuted in the top 20 in the UK and Sheeran occupied nine of the top 10 slots that week, with “Perfect” coming in at #4. WK In the U.S., ten of the album’s songs debuted on the charts with “Perfect” launching at #37. WK Six months later it was officially released as a single and in December an acoustic duet version with Beyoncé was released. The latter pushed the song to #1 on the pop charts in the U.S. The song also topped the charts in the UK and nineteen other countries. WK The song became Sheeran’s third to spend more than a year on the Billboard Hot 100, following “Shape of You” and “Thinking Out Loud.” He was the first solo artist to do so with three separate singles. SF “Perfect” was the first Sheeran wrote for his third album, was a romantic ballad about his girlfriend Cherry Seaborn. He initially met her in school and then then reconnected when she was working in New York. He said the lyrical inspiration came from a visit to fellow singer James Blunt’s house in Ibiza, where they listened to the music of rapper Future, WK specifically “March Madness.” SF After he wrote it, he sent it to Cherry in New York, but didn’t get to see her reaction to the song. SF He told Zane Lowe in an interview that he wanted to outdo previous ballad “Thinking Out Loud” because “I know that song was going to define me.” WK As a final wish of his grandmother, Sheeran collaborated with his brother Matthew, who provided string orchestration on the song. WK The full orchestration was used in a third version of the song, known as “Perfect Symphony,” which featured Andrea Bocelli. Parts of the instrumentation were used in the original version. WK The video was directed by Jason Koenig, who also helmed Sheeran’s chart-topping “Shape of You.” It was filmed at an Austrian ski resort and depicted Sheeran and actress Zoey Deutch on a ski trip, dancing in the snow, and ending up in a cabin together. MTV UK’s Ross McNeilage called the video a “Christmas dream.” WK It wasn’t actually a Christmas song or video, but the snow gave it a wintery theme. Resources: SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: Last updated 7/25/2023.

Sia hit #1 with “Cheap Thrills”

Cheap Thrills Sia with Sean Paul

Writer(s): Sia Furler, Greg Kurstin, Sean Paul Henriques (see lyrics here) Released: February 11, 2016 First Charted: March 5, 2016 Peak: 14 US, 18 BA, 16 RR, 2 AC, 17 A40, 2 UK, 14 CN, 6 AU, 21 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 8.0 US, 1.76 UK, 11.1 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 2032.0 video, 1623.43 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Australian singer Sia had been around as a performer for years and toyed with the idea of switching gears and just being a songwriter. She initially wrote “Cheap Thrills” with Rihanna in mind since the Barbados singer had already found chart-topping success with the Sia-penned “Diamonds.” However, Rihanna’s people wanted something more soulful and turned it down. Sia realized it “sounded a little bit too Brit-pop for her” but thought there was “something really uplifting about it that put me in a good mood.” SF Shen ended up recording it herself for her seventh album, This Is Acting. A remix of the song featuring reggae artist Sean Paul was released as the album’s second single. When Sia approached Paul, he listened to the song and thought, “What a big sound, nice hook and melody she had put down. I’m a huge fan of her voice. She spans generations.” SF The “synthpop and dancehall song” WK went all the way to #1 on the BillboardHot 100. It was her first chart-topper as a performer and Paul’s fourth trip to the pinnacle. “Cheap Thrills” was also a #1 in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Slovenia and a top 10 in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. WK It became the all-time best-selling song in Italy. WK It was the most “Shazamed” of the year, meaning more people used the music identification app Shazam to identify this song in 2016 than any other song. SF The song was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Rolling Stone’s Brittany Spanos called the song a “bouncy party anthem” and NME’s Nick Levine said “there’s no denying this is another superior slab of on-trend ear candy from one of pop’s finest songwriters.” WK Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Sia DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Sean Paul SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Last updated 7/24/2023.

Lukas Graham releases “7 Years”

7 Years Lukas Graham

Writer(s): Lukas Forchammer, Stefan Forrest, Morten Ristorp, Morten Pilegaard (see lyrics here) Released: September 18, 2015 First Charted: February 6, 2016 Peak: 2 US, 14 BA, 13 DG, 13 AC, 13 A40, 17 AAA, 26 MR, 15 UK, 14 CN, 18 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, 1.71 UK, 10.4 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1201.4 video, 1612.03 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Despite the implication, Lukas Graham is not an individual but the name of a Danish soul-pop band. They were quite successful in their native Denmark, releasing two #1 singles and two more top-five hits from their debut album. However, they pretty much weren’t making a dent anywhere else. It was looking like they would experience the same fate with their second album – they’d released two songs which hit #1 in Denmark, but didn’t make a dent on the international market. However, their fate would change with the third single from their second album. “7 Years” was an introspective song inspired by lead singer Lukas Forchhammer’s experiences growing up in a Copenhagen commune, smoking weed for the first time when he was 12, and dealing with his father’s death in 2012. SF The “piano-led, mid-tempo track” follows the progression of a lifetime, from age 7 to 60. SF Forchammer described the song as being “about his life so far and what he hopes to achieve in the future.” WK He told Radio.com that “the song’s basically just about becoming a good father and being such a good father that your children would want to come and visit you when you’re an old, boring man. I had a really, really cool father, so that’s what I wanna be too.” SF Forchammer believed people connected with the song because, as he told ABC Radio, “I’m being blatantly honest about the mistakes I’ve made in my life.” SF The song topped the charts in Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. WK It was the highest-charting song in the U.S. by a Danish act since 1961’s “Apache” by Jørgen Ingmann. WK It was the best-selling song in the UK in 2016. WK It was nominated for Grammys for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Lukas Graham SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Last updated 7/21/2023.