Home · Songs · Ed Sheeran · Perfect
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Ed Sheeran
Details
TonalidadG#
Compás4/4
Tempo96 BPM
Duración4:23
Álbum×
ISRCGBAHS1700007
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The story behind
When Ed Sheeran began thinking about his third studio album, *÷*, the first idea that emerged was *Perfect*. The song is a romantic ballad that looks towards traditional marriage, and it was written with Cherry Seaborn, his future wife, in mind, whom he had known since school and with whom he reconnected while she was working in New York. The spark for the lyrics came in a rather particular way: after visiting James Blunt's house in Ibiza, both listened to music by rapper Future early in the morning. Sheeran described the moment as being "barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song, which turned out to be Future's 'March Madness'." That experience prompted him to book a studio that same day and shape what would become *Perfect*, immediately feeling he had something special.
The production of *Perfect* involved the collaboration of Will Hicks, and the string orchestration was handled by his brother, Matthew Sheeran. It was the first time the two brothers had worked together on a song, an idea that came from their grandmother shortly before she passed away. This complete orchestration was later reused for the version recorded with Andrea Bocelli. The song was initially released as a single and reached number four on the UK charts in March 2017. Subsequently, on August 21, 2017, Billboard announced it would be the fourth official single from the album. In the United States, it was sent to pop radio on September 26, 2017, as the album's third single. On December 1, 2017, a new version was released, titled *Perfect Duet*, alongside American singer Beyoncé. This collaboration propelled the song to the number one spot in the UK that same month. The duet version with Beyoncé became her sixth number-one song on the Billboard Hot 100 and Sheeran's second. *Perfect* also topped the charts in 26 other countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and several European and Latin American nations. The official music video for the original song received three nominations at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards.
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