# ÷ (album)
**÷** (pronounced "Divide") is the third studio album by the English singer-songwriter [Ed Sheeran](https://www.edgepedia.org/ed-sheeran), released on 3 March 2017 through Asylum and [Atlantic Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/atlantic-records). Its two comeback singles, "Shape of You" and "Castle on the Hill", arrived simultaneously in January 2017 after a three-year hiatus, and the album went on to become the best-selling release of 2017 worldwide, winning the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album.[1](https://www.wmg.com/news/ed-sheeran-confirms-new-album-pronounced-divide-22016) • [2](https://www.ifpi.org/ed-sheeran-officially-named-the-best-selling-global-recording-artist-of-2017/) • [3](https://qa-live.grammy.com/news/ed-sheeran-subtract-new-album-2023-songs-eyes-closed-disney-plus-documentary-cherry-seaborn-journey-shape-of-you-lawsuit-thinking-out-loud)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist and title | Ed Sheeran's third studio album, ÷, pronounced "Divide", continuing the mathematical-symbol naming of + (2011) and x (2014)[1](https://www.wmg.com/news/ed-sheeran-confirms-new-album-pronounced-divide-22016) |
| Release | 3 March 2017, Asylum/Atlantic Records; pre-order from 13 January 2017[1](https://www.wmg.com/news/ed-sheeran-confirms-new-album-pronounced-divide-22016) |
| Lead singles | "Shape of You" and "Castle on the Hill" released simultaneously in January 2017; both reached number one on iTunes in 128 countries and were streamed 13 million times on Spotify on their first day[4](https://www.rollingstone.de/reviews/ed-sheeran-divide/) |
| UK chart feat | All 16 tracks entered the UK Top 20 at once, occupying the entire Top Five and 14 of the top 15 places[5](https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/recording-ed-sheerans-divide) |
| Global standing | Best-selling album of 2017, certified multi-Platinum in 36 markets; Sheeran named IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year 2017, the first artist to hold both the year's best-selling album and single[2](https://www.ifpi.org/ed-sheeran-officially-named-the-best-selling-global-recording-artist-of-2017/) |
| Awards | Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album, 2018[3](https://qa-live.grammy.com/news/ed-sheeran-subtract-new-album-2023-songs-eyes-closed-disney-plus-documentary-cherry-seaborn-journey-shape-of-you-lawsuit-thinking-out-loud) |
| Streaming | More than 12.8 billion Spotify streams as of press time in 2023, at that point the most-streamed album in Spotify history[3](https://qa-live.grammy.com/news/ed-sheeran-subtract-new-album-2023-songs-eyes-closed-disney-plus-documentary-cherry-seaborn-journey-shape-of-you-lawsuit-thinking-out-loud) |
| Tour | The two-year Divide Tour became the most-attended tour of all time, ending with homecoming shows in Ipswich, Suffolk[6](https://www.warnermusic.ie/news/2021/ed-sheeran-announces-new-album/) |
## Release and context
Sheeran announced the album in January 2017 alongside the dual release of "Shape of You" and "Castle on the Hill", songs his label described as marking two ends of his musical range: "Castle on the Hill", an ode to his hometown of [Framlingham](https://www.edgepedia.org/framlingham), Suffolk, positioned toward a stadium-ready, rockier sound, while "Shape of You" rebuilt modern pop using little more than a loop pedal.[1](https://www.wmg.com/news/ed-sheeran-confirms-new-album-pronounced-divide-22016) Sheeran himself acknowledged the demographic calculation behind the pairing: when the presenter [Chris Evans](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-evans-presenter) asked whether the two singles were written for the Radio 1 and Radio 2 audiences respectively, he first said he had written both for himself, then conceded, "Everyone said [Castle on the Hill] was a Radio 2 single and we need something for Radio 1. So your theory is correct."[7](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/mar/03/ed-sheeran-divide-review)
The standard 12-track edition runs "Eraser", "Castle on the Hill", "Dive", "Shape of You", "Perfect", "[Galway Girl](https://www.edgepedia.org/galway-girl-ed-sheeran-song)", "Happier", "New Man", "Hearts Don't Break Around Here", "What Do I Know?", "How Would You Feel (Paean)" and "Supermarket Flowers"; the deluxe edition carried 16 tracks.[8](https://www.edsheeran.com/music/571) • [5](https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/recording-ed-sheerans-divide) Sheeran created the album artwork concept and painted the cover himself.[1](https://www.wmg.com/news/ed-sheeran-confirms-new-album-pronounced-divide-22016)
## Recording and production
**Personnel and locations.** The album was executively produced by [Benny Blanco](https://www.edgepedia.org/benny-blanco) and Sheeran, with further production from [Johnny McDaid](https://www.edgepedia.org/johnny-mcdaid), Mike Elizondo and [Steve Mac](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-mac). It was recorded between Los Angeles, London, Suffolk and the RMS Queen Mary 2.[1](https://www.wmg.com/news/ed-sheeran-confirms-new-album-pronounced-divide-22016) Contributors included Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid, the songwriter Julia Michaels and Blanco, who worked on tracks including "Nancy Mulligan", "Dive" and "Barcelona".[9](https://time.com/5244082/ed-sheeran-songwriter-movie-interview/)
The Divide sessions were Sheeran's first experience of home recording. The engineer Joe Rubel set up a studio for him; before then Sheeran had never had any recording setup at home, not even monitor speakers, having toured non-stop for five years since before his first record.[5](https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/recording-ed-sheerans-divide) Rubel's stated role was to be an enabler rather than pursue technical perfection, so that Sheeran's creativity could have free rein, and work moved between the home setup and studios including Decoy, Abbey Road, RAK and Dean Street.[5](https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/recording-ed-sheerans-divide) Unusually, all 16 tracks were mixed by the same person, Mark "Spike" Stent.[5](https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/recording-ed-sheerans-divide)
**Songs from the sessions.** "Galway Girl", which Sound on Sound calls the breakthrough hit of the album since its release, was written during the sessions when Sheeran and his collaborators, sitting in the shade of a tree by a lake, wrote another song after a writing day.[5](https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/recording-ed-sheerans-divide) Sheeran later said his label tried to prevent "Galway Girl" from appearing on the record, and that he convinced the executives by arguing that "There's 400 million people in the world who say they're Irish, even if they're not Irish."[7](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/mar/03/ed-sheeran-divide-review) "Shape of You" was a late addition: Sheeran's evidence in later litigation was that he went to Rokstone Studios on 12 October 2016 intending to write songs for other artists, believing Divide was by then fully written; the demo of "Shape" was played that evening at RAK Studios, where Joe Rubel was working on the album, and introduced by Sheeran along the lines of "something we wrote today, maybe we should give it to Rihanna".[10](https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ed-Sheeran-v-Chokri-UK-High-Court-Decision-Apr-6-2022.pdf)
The making of the album was documented in the film *Ed Sheeran: Songwriter*, directed by Murray Cummings, which screened at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2018 and follows the Divide album cycle from song ideas recorded on the tour bus to the finished, record-breaking track list.[9](https://time.com/5244082/ed-sheeran-songwriter-movie-interview/) • [11](https://www.polaine.com/2019/07/learning-from-ed-sheeran/)
## Commercial performance
The album's chart impact in the United Kingdom was, in Sound on Sound's words, an unprecedented level of chart dominance: at the time of writing in May 2017, all 16 tracks from Divide were in the UK Top 20, occupying not only the entire [Top Five](https://www.edgepedia.org/top-five) but 14 of the top 15 places.[5](https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/recording-ed-sheerans-divide) On the Official Albums Chart the album peaked at number 1, first charted on 16 March 2017, and spent 501 weeks in the Top 100.[12](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/ed-sheeran-divide/)
Globally, the IFPI named Sheeran the best-selling recording artist of 2017, the fifth recipient of that award, reflecting the success of ÷ and its singles "Shape of You", "Castle on the Hill", "Galway Girl" and "Perfect". ÷ was the global best-selling album of 2017 and was certified multi-Platinum in 36 markets; "Shape of You" was the best-selling single globally of 2017, certified multi-Platinum in 32 markets. It was the first time the IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year had also held both the best-selling album and single of the year.[2](https://www.ifpi.org/ed-sheeran-officially-named-the-best-selling-global-recording-artist-of-2017/) In the United States, the album had moved more than 2 million sales-and-streaming units by August 2017, according to Nielsen Music.[13](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-ed-sheeran-staples-center-review-20170811-story.html)
Streaming gave the album a long tail. By press time in 2023, Divide remained the most-streamed album in Spotify history with more than 12.8 billion streams.[3](https://qa-live.grammy.com/news/ed-sheeran-subtract-new-album-2023-songs-eyes-closed-disney-plus-documentary-cherry-seaborn-journey-shape-of-you-lawsuit-thinking-out-loud) Years later, "Perfect", "Shape of You", "Castle on the Hill", "Dive" and "Happier" still ranked among Sheeran's top songs on Apple Music.[14](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/ed-sheeran/183313439)
## Touring
Sheeran supported the album with a world tour that ran for two years. By its completion in the summer of 2019, with special homecoming shows in Ipswich, Suffolk, the Divide Tour had officially become the most-attended tour of all time.[6](https://www.warnermusic.ie/news/2021/ed-sheeran-announces-new-album/) The tour's production used a Meyer Sound LEO Family system supplied by the UK company [Major Tom](https://www.edgepedia.org/major-tom), with Chris Marsh serving as FOH engineer, monitor engineer and production manager.[15](https://fohonline.com/articles/production-profile/ed-sheeran-s-divide-world-tour/) Unseen footage from the tour later appeared in the Disney+ docuseries *Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All* in 2023.[16](https://press.disneyplus.com/news/disney-plus-ed-sheeran-the-sum-of-it-all-premieres-may-3)
## Reception
Critical reaction was mixed. The Guardian's review by Harriet Gibsone described a "suspiciously slick" album that aspires to appeal across the board, hopping from pant-flinging ballad to Gaelic rap.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/mar/03/ed-sheeran-divide-review) Pitchfork's Laura Snapes scored the album 5.3, writing that Sheeran "sells trite innocence by the pound" and uses "bland wisdom and unimaginative music".[17](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22960-divide/) The Los Angeles Times, by contrast, found the record assured, saying that Sheeran's "cheesy confidence, combined with the hints of new style, help make Divide his easiest album to enjoy".[18](https://www.metacritic.com/music/divide/ed-sheeran/critic-reviews) Time included Divide among its best albums of 2017 so far.[19](https://time.com/4785875/best-albums-2017-so-far/) At the 2018 [Grammy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/grammy-awards) the album won the Best Pop Vocal Album category, part of two pop statuettes for Sheeran that year.[3](https://qa-live.grammy.com/news/ed-sheeran-subtract-new-album-2023-songs-eyes-closed-disney-plus-documentary-cherry-seaborn-journey-shape-of-you-lawsuit-thinking-out-loud) • [20](https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/01/29/escaparate/1517247360_544355.html)
## Place in Sheeran's catalog
÷ is the third entry in Sheeran's "mathematics" series of symbol-titled albums, following + (Plus, 2011) and x (Multiply, 2014) and followed by = (Equals, 2021) and − (Subtract, 2023).[1](https://www.wmg.com/news/ed-sheeran-confirms-new-album-pronounced-divide-22016) • [21](https://www.nme.com/news/music/ed-sheeran-announces-new-album-subtract-3406360) In a 2018 Apple Music film, Sheeran predicted the album would "be the career-defining album".[3](https://qa-live.grammy.com/news/ed-sheeran-subtract-new-album-2023-songs-eyes-closed-disney-plus-documentary-cherry-seaborn-journey-shape-of-you-lawsuit-thinking-out-loud) The mathematical-era albums were later compiled, with exclusive live recordings and acoustic versions from his world tours, in the +–=÷× Tour Collection released on 27 September 2024 through Asylum and Atlantic.[22](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/ed-sheeran-divide-x-tour-collection/)
## References
1. [Ed Sheeran Confirms New Album '÷' (Pronounced "Divide"), Warner Music Group](https://www.wmg.com/news/ed-sheeran-confirms-new-album-pronounced-divide-22016)
2. [Ed Sheeran officially named the best-selling global recording artist of 2017, IFPI](https://www.ifpi.org/ed-sheeran-officially-named-the-best-selling-global-recording-artist-of-2017/)
3. [Ed Sheeran's Road To 'Subtract', GRAMMY.com](https://qa-live.grammy.com/news/ed-sheeran-subtract-new-album-2023-songs-eyes-closed-disney-plus-documentary-cherry-seaborn-journey-shape-of-you-lawsuit-thinking-out-loud)
4. [Review: Ed Sheeran – Divide, Rolling Stone (Germany)](https://www.rollingstone.de/reviews/ed-sheeran-divide/)
5. [Recording Ed Sheeran's Divide, Sound on Sound (May 2017)](https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/recording-ed-sheerans-divide)
6. [Ed Sheeran announces new album "=", Warner Music Ireland](https://www.warnermusic.ie/news/2021/ed-sheeran-announces-new-album/)
7. [Ed Sheeran: ÷ review – everybloke charm fails to mask Divide's calculating soul, The Guardian (3 March 2017)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/mar/03/ed-sheeran-divide-review)
8. [Divide | Ed Sheeran, official website track listing](https://www.edsheeran.com/music/571)
9. [New Ed Sheeran Documentary Songwriter Is an Unvarnished Look at the Craft of Hitmaking, TIME](https://time.com/5244082/ed-sheeran-songwriter-movie-interview/)
10. [Sheeran -v- Chokri judgment, UK High Court decision (6 April 2022)](https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ed-Sheeran-v-Chokri-UK-High-Court-Decision-Apr-6-2022.pdf)
11. [Learning from Ed Sheeran, Andy Polaine (2019)](https://www.polaine.com/2019/07/learning-from-ed-sheeran/)
12. [÷ (DIVIDE) – ED SHEERAN, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/ed-sheeran-divide/)
13. [Review: Ed Sheeran aimed to please fans at Staples Center, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-ed-sheeran-staples-center-review-20170811-story.html)
14. [Ed Sheeran on Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/ed-sheeran/183313439)
15. [Ed Sheeran's 'Divide' World Tour, Front of House Magazine](https://fohonline.com/articles/production-profile/ed-sheeran-s-divide-world-tour/)
16. [Ed Sheeran: The Sum Of It All, Disney+ Press](https://press.disneyplus.com/news/disney-plus-ed-sheeran-the-sum-of-it-all-premieres-may-3)
17. [÷ (Divide), Pitchfork review by Laura Snapes](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22960-divide/)
18. [Critic Reviews for Divide, Metacritic (including Los Angeles Times quotation)](https://www.metacritic.com/music/divide/ed-sheeran/critic-reviews)
19. [Best Albums of 2017 So Far, TIME](https://time.com/4785875/best-albums-2017-so-far/)
20. [Premios Grammy 2018, El País](https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/01/29/escaparate/1517247360_544355.html)
21. [Ed Sheeran announces new album '−', NME](https://www.nme.com/news/music/ed-sheeran-announces-new-album-subtract-3406360)
22. [+ - = DIVIDE X - TOUR COLLECTION – ED SHEERAN, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/ed-sheeran-divide-x-tour-collection/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Indie and alternative albums › Studio albums of the 2010s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license