A View from The Top #72

“I’m in love with the shape of you”, says Ed Sheeran in Shape Of You, but clearly he isn’t the only one who’s in love as the song is number one for the sixth consecutive week and the music video itself has garnered about 150 million views in less than a month. Being a massive Ed Sheeran fan myself, I almost broke the replay button when the song first came out, but all good things come to an end (just like my love affair with Shape Of You). Now, each time it plays, a part of me resents it more than the last time. Add that to the fact that it was played in one of my exercise classes and a Wednesday TP night, and you have a recipe for hatred. It’s safe to say that Shape Of You is slowly turning into your typical high school boyfriend; you thought it was the best thing that happened to you when you first met him and never thought that you guys would break up, but fast forward to university and you realise that although a part of you still loves him, you would rather not see him ever again.

I wonder if there’s a scientific formula for success that Sheeran has obtained. Did he spend a couple of months in a dark room by himself just figuring out the best way to come up with consecutive chart toppers? Is there a secret society founded by Adele, Justin Bieber and Drake that let Ed in? Or does it all boil down to someone as famous as him putting out a decent song after a long hiatus? It’s probably the latter but a girl can dream.

Being the musical genius that he is, Sheeran went for pop’s current biggest trend: dancehall beats. The jarring beats of the song are contrasted by his smooth flow and a very catchy chorus about a body, and you have a chart-topper right there. My analysis of the song may song extremely critical but don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed it when it first came out and I will still sing along and dance to it in the shower.

I can’t help but think what next? Ed released another song from his album last week called How Would You Feel (Paean) which captures the essence of the Ed we all know and love. However, the song didn’t receive as much recognition as his first two singles. Could this mean that the success of his first two singles can be attributed to fans losing it over Ed’s comeback? Whatever the reason may be, Shape Of You doesn’t have any imminent threats to its number one throne right now (unless Ed releases another catchy single soon). Love it or hate it, Shape Of You is here to stay.