Ed Sheeran's Official Top 40 biggest songs

The last ten years have seen Ed Sheeran quickly rise to global superstardom and keep a firm grip over pop ever since. 

His new album = (Equals) is being billed as his most personal yet, featuring songs about his marriage, the birth of his daughter and loss. But even when he's not been singing about himself, Ed has always had a knack for telling relatable stories with certain a level of authenticity. They also just happen to be packed with undeniable hooks.

Below, we delve into the numbers behind Ed's Official Top 40 biggest songs to reveal ten incredible chart facts, before revealing the full chart at the bottom of the page.   

1. Total chart sales across Ed Sheeran's Top 40 hits on the Official Singles Chart: 60.3 million

Ed's total of Top 40 hits is currently at 47 - expect that to climb this Friday and in the coming months as he pushes more singles from =. Since making his debut with The A Team in June 2011, Ed has averaged almost 5 (4.7) Top 40 singles a year. Oh, and that 60.3 million figure includes 5.7 billion streams.

MORE: Ed Sheeran's Official UK Chart history in full

2. Shape Of You is Ed Sheeran's biggest song.

Perhaps unsurprising, but the lead single from Ed's Divide album is his biggest track in the UK, with 5.26 million chart sales (sales and streams combined.) The song enjoyed 13 consecutive weeks at Number 1 in 2017, seeing off challenges for Number 1 from himself (with Castle On The Hill, How Would You Feel (Paean) and Galway Girl), Rag'n'Bone Man's Human, and Chainsmokers and Coldplay's Something Just Like This, before being dethroned by Harry Styles' Sign Of The Times... and then returning to the summit for a final week.

Perfect is Ed's longest-running hit in the Top 100

Ed's big ballad from Divide was a near-instant pop classic upon release, and has logged 187 weeks to date in the Top 100 - his longest-running song on the chart by a considerable margin. With a little help from Beyonce and Andrea Bocelli, who featured on duet remixes of the song, Perfect claimed 2017's Official Christmas Number 1. It ranks second on his overall biggest songs with a mighty 4.14 million chart sales. 

22 Ed Sheeran songs have over 1 million UK chart sales

A staggering feat, we're sure you'll agree. Ed's most recent single to tip over the 1 million mark is Bad Habits, the lead single from =, which places 18th on his overall Top 40.

Shape Of You is the UK’s most-streamed song of all time.

The sheer number of hits to Ed's name means it's basically impossible to pin one song down as his signature hit, but if you had to name one, it would probably be Shape Of You. It's the UK's most-streamed song of all time, with an eye-watering 496 million plays.

Ed's biggest non-single is Supermarket Flowers.

Ed's album tracks have a habit of finding their way into the charts from time to time (ahem), and this track from his Divide album peaked at Number 8 despite never been pushed as a single. It's currently Ed's 20th biggest song with 1.24 million chart sales.

Photograph is Ed’s biggest song to miss the Top 10.

Despite peaking at Number 15 on the Official Singles Chart, Photograph - which served as the fifth and final single from his x album - is one of Ed's most enduring hits, placing sixth on his all-time Top 40 with 2.38 million chart sales.

Ed’s biggest collaboration is I Don’t Care.

The duet with Justin Bieber trailed his star-packed No.6 Collaborations Project in 2019, and topped the Official Singles Chart for eight weeks. It places at Number 8 overall and leads nine collabs in Ed’s Top 40. His biggest where he’s not the lead artist is Stormzy’s Own It (12), which also features Burna Boy.

Tenerife Sea is Ed’s biggest song to miss the Top 40.

Co-written with Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid, Foy Vance, and produced by Rick Rubin for his x album, Tenerife Sea wasn't given the single treatment but still managed to peak at Number 62. A song dedicated to his mum, the track ranks at Number 31 in his all-time Top 40.

Ed’s biggest song to miss the Top 100 is Kiss Me.

Eight songs from Ed's debut album + have landed in the UK Top 100, but one that has been quietly bubbling away is Kiss Me, which places at 38 and has 585,000 chart sales, despite never entering the Official Singles Chart.

Ed Sheeran's Official Top 40 biggest songs

©2021 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

Article image: Dan Martensen