# Perfect (Ed Sheeran song)
"Perfect" is a romantic pop ballad by the English singer-songwriter [Ed Sheeran](https://www.edgepedia.org/ed-sheeran) (born 1991), released on 3 March 2017 on his third studio album *÷* (Divide) and written for Cherry Seaborn, his girlfriend at the time and now his wife[1](https://www.shazam.com/song/1193701400/perfect) • [2](https://stereogum.com/2292107/the-number-ones-ed-sheerans-perfect-feat-beyonce/columns/the-number-ones). It became his fourth UK Number 1 single, held the top spot for six weeks, and was the UK's Official Christmas Number 1 of 2017[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/ed-sheeran-perfect/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 3 March 2017, on *÷* (Atlantic Records UK); fourth single from the album[1](https://www.shazam.com/song/1193701400/perfect) • [4](https://www.rslawards.com/download/8415/?tmstv=1777637424) |
| Writing | First song written for *÷*; written for Cherry Seaborn two months into their courtship[4](https://www.rslawards.com/download/8415/?tmstv=1777637424) • [5](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/ed-sheeran-interview-2023) |
| UK chart | Entered the Official Singles Chart at Number 4, climbed to Number 1 for six weeks, UK Christmas Number 1 2017[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/ed-sheeran-perfect/) |
| Christmas No. 1 week | 85,000 combined sales: 45,000 downloads and 6 million streams[6](https://rotation.today/song/ed-sheeran__perfect) |
| Certifications | 4x Platinum in the UK, 8x Platinum in the US[4](https://www.rslawards.com/download/8415/?tmstv=1777637424) |
| Notable versions | Duet with Beyoncé; a version with Andrea Bocelli[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/ed-sheeran-perfect/) |
| Streaming | About 4.15 billion Spotify streams[7](https://spotify-top.com/song/perfect-ed-sheeran) |
| Length | 4:23 (album version on *÷*)[8](https://www.allmusic.com/song/perfect-mt0054031197) |
## Writing and inspiration
The song was written by Sheeran alone and was the first song he penned for *÷*, despite being its fourth single[9](https://www.smoothradio.com/features/the-story-of/perfect-ed-sheeran-lyrics-meaning-video/) • [4](https://www.rslawards.com/download/8415/?tmstv=1777637424). He wrote it for Cherry Seaborn, whom he had known since secondary school in Suffolk, doing so two months into their renewed courtship[5](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/ed-sheeran-interview-2023). In a 2023 British GQ interview he described the discomfort of writing it at that stage: "When I was writing 'Perfect' I thought, This is really cheesy; Cherry is gonna think that I'm like the cheesiest fucking boyfriend"[5](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/ed-sheeran-interview-2023).
Sheeran framed the song as a deliberate attempt to follow up his 2014 ballad "Thinking Out Loud". In a [Music Choice](https://www.edgepedia.org/music-choice) interview he said, "There was always a scare that 'Thinking Out Loud' would define me and define my career, so I wrote a lot of songs trying to beat it, and I think I have beaten it"[2](https://stereogum.com/2292107/the-number-ones-ed-sheerans-perfect-feat-beyonce/columns/the-number-ones). In the documentary *Songwriter* (2018), filmed by his cousin Murray Cummings, Sheeran insisted that "with 'Perfect,' I had to have it 100% me when I wrote it"[10](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-ed-sheeran-documentary-20180918-story.html).
## Production and versions
After writing the song, Sheeran produced it with the Grammy-nominated British producer Will Hicks, with instrumental assistance from his brother Matthew Sheeran[4](https://www.rslawards.com/download/8415/?tmstv=1777637424). The brothers had not collaborated before; with their grandmother elderly, they decided to fulfill her final wish to see them work together, and Matthew provided the strings arrangement for the recording[4](https://www.rslawards.com/download/8415/?tmstv=1777637424). The credits also include [Pino Palladino](https://www.edgepedia.org/pino-palladino) on bass, [Benny Blanco](https://www.edgepedia.org/benny-blanco) on additional production, and Mark "Spike" Stent mixing[11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORrFJ63nlcA). Cummings, who filmed the sessions, called "Perfect" with the orchestra the best thing he witnessed: "I was in the room with the orchestra [when they were recording live]"[12](https://time.com/5244082/ed-sheeran-songwriter-movie-interview/).
Two high-profile alternate versions followed. A duet with Beyoncé reworked the song toward the UK Christmas chart race, and a version with the Italian tenor [Andrea Bocelli](https://www.edgepedia.org/andrea-bocelli) was released for classical audiences[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/ed-sheeran-perfect/). The Beyoncé duet entered the Official Chart Update ahead of the festive chart and helped push the song toward Number 1[13](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/ed-sheerans-perfect-duet-with-beyonc%C3%A9-is-heading-for-number-1-on-the-official-singles-chart__21155/).
## Chart performance
"Perfect" was announced as the fourth single from *÷* in September 2017[14](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/ed-sheeran-announces-perfect-as-the-fourth-single-from-his-divide-album__20497/). It had first entered the UK Official Singles Chart at Number 4 in the week the album was released (first chart date 16 March 2017), then climbed slowly until reaching Number 1 in December 2017, where it stayed for six weeks and took the UK Christmas Number 1[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/ed-sheeran-perfect/). In the Christmas chart week it recorded 85,000 combined sales, made up of 45,000 downloads and 6 million streams[6](https://rotation.today/song/ed-sheeran__perfect). The song spent 191 weeks in the UK Top 100 across its run and also spent seven weeks at Number 1 on the Irish Singles Chart[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/ed-sheeran-perfect/).
Beyond the UK and Ireland, the track topped the charts in the US and 16 other countries[4](https://www.rslawards.com/download/8415/?tmstv=1777637424). It gave Sheeran his second UK Number 1 single from *÷*, after "Shape of You"[4](https://www.rslawards.com/download/8415/?tmstv=1777637424). It was certified 4x Platinum in the UK and 8x Platinum in the US[4](https://www.rslawards.com/download/8415/?tmstv=1777637424). On Spotify it has accumulated about 4.15 billion streams[7](https://spotify-top.com/song/perfect-ed-sheeran).
## Wedding-song status
The song was written to work as a first-dance ballad, and audience data supports that aim. Data from [The Knot](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-knot)'s Real Weddings Study showed that, beginning in 2017, US couples chose "Perfect" as their first dance song more than any other, a streak unmatched by any artist until [Elvis Presley](https://www.edgepedia.org/elvis-presley)'s "Can't Help Falling in Love" took its place[6](https://rotation.today/song/ed-sheeran__perfect). Wedding music guides aimed at couples continue to list it among recommended first-dance choices[15](https://silvertunes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Wedding-Music-Cheat-Sheet.pdf).
## Reception
Critical opinion of the song divided along the line between craft and sentiment. The Independent's review of *÷* argued that despite wrinkles of wit in Sheeran's writing, "he's horribly sentimental, idealizing love into anonymity in a song actually called 'Perfect'"; the Guardian called it the album's token ballad and quoted the [Evening Standard](https://www.edgepedia.org/evening-standard)'s description of it as "drippier than water torture"[16](https://www.metacritic.com/music/divide/ed-sheeran/critic-reviews) • [17](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/mar/03/ed-sheeran-album-likely-to-break-records-whatever-the-critics-think). Commercially the judgment was unambiguous, with the single becoming his fourth UK Number 1[18](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/ed-sheerans-perfect-becomes-his-fourth-number-1-on-the-official-singles-chart__21182/).
Among listeners on Album of the Year, the song carries a user score of 53 from 287 ratings, against a run of all-10 ratings from fans[19](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/89234-ed-sheeran-perfect/user-reviews/?type=ratings). Sheeran himself has acknowledged the song's deliberate directness, saying any song people connect with "has to feel uncomfortable while you're writing it"[5](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/ed-sheeran-interview-2023).
## References
1. [Perfect – Ed Sheeran: song release details, Shazam](https://www.shazam.com/song/1193701400/perfect)
2. [The Number Ones: Ed Sheeran's "Perfect" (Feat. Beyoncé), Stereogum](https://stereogum.com/2292107/the-number-ones-ed-sheerans-perfect-feat-beyonce/columns/the-number-ones)
3. [PERFECT – ED SHEERAN, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/ed-sheeran-perfect/)
4. [Perfect – artist and song facts, RSL Awards](https://www.rslawards.com/download/8415/?tmstv=1777637424)
5. [Ed Sheeran on Autumn Variations, writing three songs a day and selling suncream, British GQ](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/ed-sheeran-interview-2023)
6. [Perfect — Ed Sheeran, Rotation](https://rotation.today/song/ed-sheeran__perfect)
7. [Perfect by Ed Sheeran – Spotify Streams & Chart History, Spotify Top](https://spotify-top.com/song/perfect-ed-sheeran)
8. [Perfect – Ed Sheeran, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/song/perfect-mt0054031197)
9. [The Story of... 'Perfect' by Ed Sheeran, Smooth Radio](https://www.smoothradio.com/features/the-story-of/perfect-ed-sheeran-lyrics-meaning-video/)
10. [In 'Songwriter,' Ed Sheeran's cousin documents the singer's musical process, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-ed-sheeran-documentary-20180918-story.html)
11. [Perfect – Ed Sheeran, official YouTube upload with credits](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORrFJ63nlcA)
12. [New Ed Sheeran Documentary Songwriter Is an Unvarnished Look at the Craft of Hitmaking, TIME](https://time.com/5244082/ed-sheeran-songwriter-movie-interview/)
13. [Ed Sheeran's Perfect duet with Beyoncé is heading for Number 1, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/ed-sheerans-perfect-duet-with-beyonc%C3%A9-is-heading-for-number-1-on-the-official-singles-chart__21155/)
14. [Ed Sheeran announces Perfect as the fourth single from his Divide album, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/ed-sheeran-announces-perfect-as-the-fourth-single-from-his-divide-album__20497/)
15. [Wedding Music Cheat Sheet, Silver Tunes](https://silvertunes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Wedding-Music-Cheat-Sheet.pdf)
16. [Critic Reviews for Divide, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/divide/ed-sheeran/critic-reviews)
17. [Ed Sheeran album set to break records, whatever the critics might say, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/mar/03/ed-sheeran-album-likely-to-break-records-whatever-the-critics-think)
18. [Ed Sheeran's Perfect becomes his fourth Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/ed-sheerans-perfect-becomes-his-fourth-number-1-on-the-official-singles-chart__21182/)
19. [Perfect – Ed Sheeran user reviews, Album of The Year](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/89234-ed-sheeran-perfect/user-reviews/?type=ratings)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Pop, rock, and metal songs › Soft rock and adult contemporary songs › 1990s and later ballads*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license