Maps of Music

÷ (Divide) (2017)

Where the lyrics of ÷ (Divide) take you, and where it was really made.

Divide sold 672,000 copies in its first UK week, the fastest for a male solo artist there, and all 16 of its songs entered the UK top 20.

Key places

Recording location: RAK Studios (2017)

Recording site RAK Studios — MusicBrainz lists this studio as a recording location for the album. The session dates are not given in the source. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording location: Abbey Road Studios (2017)

Recording site Abbey Road Studios — MusicBrainz lists this studio as a recording location for the album. The session dates are not given in the source. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: Jubilee line to St John's Wood station, then about a 5-minute walk.

Recording location: Rokstone Studios (2017)

Recording site Rokstone Studios — MusicBrainz lists this studio as a recording location for the album. The session dates are not given in the source. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording location: Dean St. Studios (2017)

Recording site Good Earth Studios — MusicBrainz lists this studio as a recording location for the album. The session dates are not given in the source. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording location: The Village (2017)

Recording site Village Recorders — MusicBrainz lists this studio as a recording location for the album. The session dates are not given in the source. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording location: Can-Am Recorders (2017)

Recording site Can-Am Studios — MusicBrainz lists this studio as a recording location for the album. The session dates are not given in the source. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording location: The Cauldron Studio (2017)

Recording site The Cauldron Studio — MusicBrainz lists this studio as a recording location for the album. The session dates are not given in the source. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• ÷ (Divide) is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran
• Released 3 March 2017 through Asylum Records and Atlantic Records
• Lead singles "Castle on the Hill" and "Shape of You" issued 6 January 2017
• Won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards
• Shape of You interpolates "No Scrubs" by TLC

Background

• 13 December 2015: Sheeran announced a self-imposed hiatus from social media
• He said part of the hiatus would go to creating the third album
• 13 December 2016: a blank blue square was posted on his social platforms to signal his return
• 1 January 2017: the hiatus ended with word that new music would arrive on 6 January
• 12 January 2017: tracklist and release date revealed with pre-order
• Release day on Spotify: 56.73 million streams, breaking the previous single-day record of 29 million for Starboy by The Weeknd

Recording

• Mixed by Mark "Spike" Stent at The Mixsuite UK & LA
• Mastered by Stuart Hawkes at Metropolis Mastering, London
• Executive producers: Ed Sheeran and Benny Blanco
• Other producers: Steve Mac, Johnny McDaid, Will Hicks, Mike Elizondo, Labrinth
• Recording studios listed in MusicBrainz: RAK Studios, Abbey Road Studios, Rokstone Studios, Dean St. Studios, The Village, Can-Am Recorders, The Cauldron Studio

Cover

• Cover art photography by David Rowan
• Original cover painting by Ed Sheeran
• Illustrations by Kasiq Jungwoo
• Design and art direction by Jonny Costello and Charlotte Audery at Adultartclubco.uk

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Edward Christopher Sheeran was born on 17 February 1991 in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk.
• He began writing songs around the age of eleven and learned guitar at that age.
• He studied at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford before leaving to support Just Jack.
• He released the EP No.5 Collaborations Project independently in January 2011 and signed with Asylum Records the same year.

Career

• His debut album + (2011) topped the UK Albums Chart and featured the hit "The A Team".
• × (2014) won the Brit Award for British Album of the Year and was the second-best-selling album worldwide of 2015.
• ÷ (2017) became the best-selling album worldwide of 2017, and he was named Global Recording Artist of the Year by the IFPI.
• He has sold 200 million records worldwide and has won four Grammy Awards.
• He founded the label Gingerbread Man Records and released albums including = (2021), − (2023) and Play (2025).

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Maura Johnston of Rolling Stone gave a four-star review
• Roisin O'Connor of The Independent also gave four stars
• Jordan Bassett of NME described the album as likeable, assured but unassuming, and sometimes hard to fathom
• Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press said the album would add listeners and called Sheeran a special talent
• Harriet Gibsone of The Guardian gave two stars out of five, calling it no less calculating than peers at the top of pop
• Laura Snapes of Pitchfork gave a negative review of 2.8 out of 10
• David Hillier of Drowned in Sound gave a 3/10 rating

Reappraisal

• Metacritic score of 62 from 17 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews

Records

• UK: 672,000 copies in the first week, the fastest-selling album by a male artist there
• UK: third highest opening overall, behind Adele's 25 and Oasis' Be Here Now
• UK: topped the Albums Chart for 20 non-consecutive weeks
• UK: highest-selling album of 2017 with over 2,128,000 copies sold by the end of the year
• US: debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 451,000 album-equivalent units, 322,000 of them pure sales
• Ireland: opened at number one with 27,600 units
• Australia: opened at number one with a double platinum certification, selling 97,014 copies
• France: opened at number two with 40,900 copies sold
• Worldwide: 6.1 million copies in 2017 according to the IFPI, the best-selling album globally that year
• Topped the charts in over 25 territories
• Won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Release-day Spotify record: 56.73 million streams in one day, a record broken by Drake's More Life 16 days later.
• Barcelona was certified platinum by the BPI in the UK on 9 August 2019 despite never being released as a single.
• In Ireland the album opened at number one, and the entire top 16 of the Irish Singles Chart came from it.
• Perfect, the fourth single, became the UK Christmas number one of 2017.
• The ÷ Tour ran 260 shows from 16 March 2017 to 26 August 2019, ending with four homecoming gigs in Ipswich.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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