Ed Sheeran Named World's Best-Selling Recording Artist of 2017

Ed Sheeran yet again dominated the charts kicking off 2017 with his highly acclaimed pop-album Divide. Released through Asylum and Atlantic Records, Divide hit #1 on the charts in 14 countries as well as receiving a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. To date, the album has been streamed 134.6 million times as well as going platinum, in most cases multiple times, diamond and gold worldwide.

Sheeran’s album consists of 16 tracks, including global smashes such as "Shape of You", "Catle on the Hill", "Perfect", "Galway Girl", and "Happier". Sheeran’s debut singles, "Shape of You" and "Castle on the Hill" hit the US Top 10 in the first week of release, making Sheeran the first artist to accomplish this goal. Today, the IFPI named Ed Sheeran as the world's best-selling recording artist of 2017.

Sheeran held the role of vocalist and executive producer on the album but did not create this success alone. Other notable producers include Benny Blanco Labrinth, Steve Mac, Johnny McDavid, Mike Elizondo, Will Hicks, and Killbeatz. Their collaboration made the album that Sheeran praised to MTV as the best work he’s ever done. In that same March 2017 interview, Sheeran also divulged that "Perfect" is the best song he’s written.

Fans may be disappointed to hear that the anticipated album following Divide will not be a pop album.  During an interview on the podcast George Ezra and Friends, Sheeran stated, “people are going to be like ‘it has to be bigger than ‘Shape of You’ and it has to sell more than this’, but if I control it and go ‘here’s a lo-fi record that I really fucking love,’ my fans are gonna be like ‘Yay!’, and the pop world are gonna be like ‘oh well, maybe the next one.’” As the old saying goes, everything he touches turns to gold, and we expect nothing less from his upcoming album.