It clocks in at 2:42, short by most standards, except when you realize that short hits are having a moment thanks to the weight of streaming services when it comes to chart position (it follows that you can stream shorter songs more times in a row, boosting their stats, and so on and so forth). It's produced by 'Sicko Mode' contributor OZ and Drake's oft-mined in-house OVO talent Boi-1da. Young Thug & J Hus)'? What're we doing here? Is this an album or a playlist crafted by robots to game the streaming algorithms into utter chart dominance? It's hard not to feel incredibly cynical about the entire endeavor.īut in the middle of the album, you'll find 'Antisocial,' a throbbing collaboration with Travis Scott that, on first listen, will send you reeling. But No.6 Collaborations Project, at 15 songs with almost as many features-hence its title-has filled me with dread since the track list was announced.

Some are big, rambling ballads that wax nostalgic for a time you never even knew but can't help yearning for ('Castle on the Hill') others serve to compliment the female form ('Shape of You,' a sexy song about sex) others exist purely to give Beyoncé additional opportunities to top the charts ('Perfect Duet').įor the past few years, Sheeran's used the strength of his songs, and his undeniable musical prowess, to fill stadiums around the world and to book bit parts in movies about the Beatles, or the lack thereof (hello, Yesterday).

Sheeran's a master of shooting dead center with his songs. It's not hard to see why they resonate they're treacly confections, streaked with flashes of pop-music brilliance, as is common with the English musician's output. It's unquestionably one of the year's biggest albums already-lead singles 'I Don't Care' (with Justin Bieber) and 'Cross Me' (with Chance the Rapper and PNB Rock) have been inescapable this summer if you're a human with ears and access to Spotify. That's how I've felt in the lead-up to this new Ed Sheeran album, No.6 Collaborations Project, out today via Atlantic Records. Other major cultural releases loom large and hulking like fucking icebergs, threatening you from miles away, smiling at you with a menacing glare as your ship slowly sails directly into their unavoidable path. Most of those Kanye albums from last summer sizzled and dissipated like hot oil splattering out of a pan.

Disney's Aladdin live-action reboot, for instance, came and went like a puff of blue smoke in the night. Some moments in pop culture approach so swiftly, you don't even notice them when they're upon you.

Ed sheeran biggest hit song