"Shape of You" was written by Ed Sheeran, Steve Mac and Johnny McDaid and recorded in 2016. It was first written for Little Mix, then conceived as a duet for Rihanna and Rudimental, before Sheeran kept it for himself. Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle and Kandi also received writing credits, because the song interpolates TLC's "No Scrubs" (1999), credits that were negotiated only after release. Sheeran wanted an R&B feel; Steve Mac started the session on keyboard, and Sheeran added percussion by tapping the guitar. Released as a single on 6 January 2017, it is one of the double lead singles of the album ÷ (Divide) (2017), where it was added as the final track.
Described as pop, dancehall and tropical house, it has strummed acoustic guitar, a marimba-led percussive sway and a tresillo rhythm. Critical reception was mixed, but it reached number one in 34 countries, including the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, where it spent 13 weeks. It was the best-performing song of 2017 on the Billboard year-end chart and the UK's best-selling song of 2017 and of the decade. In December 2018 it became the first song to reach 2 billion Spotify streams. It won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 60th Grammys.
