Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran will be releasing his anticipated third album,'Divide,' March 3, 2017. The reveal comes hot on the heels of the release of his new tracks, 'Shape of You' and 'Castle on the Hill.' Since their release last week, the two tracks have climbed the charts to the number one and two spots in the U.K. No artist has previously achieved this feat with two new singles entering the U.K. charts simultaneously. The talented musician has been on a three-year hiatus from the Music scene but is making a strong comeback with the success of his two singles, and with abundant rumors swirling that he will headline Glastonbury this year.
Ed Sheeran is "incredibly chuffed" about the success of his new singles
On his two new singles, Sheeran told the media "I'm incredibly chuffed that they've gone straight in at Number One and Two today." He also added, "Both tracks mean a huge amount to me so it really is amazing to see them get to the top of the chart together on the first week. I can't wait for everyone to hear the rest of the album in March."
The new singles surpassed pre-existing records
'Shape of You' and 'Castle on the Hill' set new records on the Spotify charts. Both tracks surpassed the previously held record by One Direction's song 'Drag Me Down,'which had been streamed 4.7 million times upon release in 2015. Following their release, 'Shape of You' was streamed 6.8 million times and 'Castle on the Hill' was streamed 6.1 million times in the same 24-hours.
Sheeran also claimed the top spot for the biggest opening week for any artist since Adele, who held the spot with the release of her single 'Hello' in November 2015, which sold 332, 000 copies. Between the two new tracks, Sheeran has sold 421, 000 copies.
'Divide' tracklist and pre-order information revealed
With the news of his album release, Sheeran took to Twitter to share the 'Divide' tracklist with his fans.
The album consists of twelve songs respectively named, 'Eraser,' 'Castle on the Hill,' 'Dive,' 'Shape of You,' 'Perfect,' 'Galway Girl,' 'Happier,' 'Hearts Don't Break Around Here,' 'New Man,' 'What Do I Know?,' How Would You Feel (Paen),' and 'Supermarket Flowers.' The album will be available for pre-order on January 13th at midnight.
