Brits 2018: Why everyone loves Ed Sheeran's Shape of You

Shape Of You was made for this with its textural and dynamic changes, its distinctive elements combined and held within the bounds of a simple chord progression

“Not me,” I hear you protesting. “You don’t speak for me.” And perhaps that’s right – perhaps you, dear reader, have more elevated taste. After all, a simple tune with fairly banal romantic lyrics backed by four chords and a cod dancehall rhythm can hardly be said to be positioned on the cutting edge of music.

But among pop music fans, you’d be in the minority.

Released back in January 2017 as one half of a double lead single from the album ÷ (Divide), Shape Of You been around for over a year now. And it’s been inescapable, saturating the cultural atmosphere