"Castle on the Hill" | ||||||||||||||
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Single by Ed Sheeran | ||||||||||||||
from the album ÷ | ||||||||||||||
Released | 6 January 2017 | |||||||||||||
Format | Digital download | |||||||||||||
Recorded | 2016 | |||||||||||||
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Length | 4:21 | |||||||||||||
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Ed Sheeran singles chronology | ||||||||||||||
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"Castle on the Hill" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was released as a digital download on 6 January 2017 as one of the lead singles from his upcoming third studio album ÷ (2017), along with "Shape of You".
The theme of the single surrounds Sheeran's home town of Framlingham, and he reminisces tales of 'smoking hand-rolled cigarettes' and getting 'drunk [with] friends' at this place. The castle mentioned in the song is Framlingham Castle, and in January 2017, Sheeran was invited to perform at the Castle.
"Castle on the Hill" was accompanied by a lyric video upon its release. As of 10 February 2017, the lyric video on YouTube has amassed over 106 million views in a period of 36 days.
Jon Caramanica from New York Times said, "'Castle on the Hill' has U2 influenced nervous guitar builds and wistful, largely generic lyrics about the people who shaped him."Billboard's Taylor Weatherby wrote about the song saying, "'Castle on the Hill' has a Train like vibe with a fast-paced, yet powerful melody that builds to an epic chorus that's just as Sheeran as all of his past singles. Needless to say, Sheeran is telling the world he's back in compelling fashion." Jeremy Gordon of Spin gave the song a positive review, stating that the song "sort of sounds like late period Coldplay, big, broad stroke music for arenas and Wembley performances. There’s a lyric about driving down a country road while listening to Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer,” because Ed Sheeran saw Almost Famous once." Adam Starkey from news website Metro states that it "'has echoes of Mumford & Sons with the kind of climbing drums and soaring chorus sure to win over festival crowds, recalling how far he’s come from ‘smoking handrolled cigarettes’ and ‘running from the law in the backfields’."
"Castle on the Hill" debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart on 13 January, selling over 193,000 copies in its first week. Sheeran also debuted at number one with "Shape of You", making him the only artist in UK chart history to debut in the top two positions in the same week. "Castle on the Hill" debuted at number one on the Scottish Singles Chart behind "Shape of You". The song was certified silver in the first week due to selling over 200,000 units. The song remained at number two in its second week, selling over 100,000 units. The song debuted at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, selling 171,000 downloads and gaining 13 million streams in its debut week in the US. Sheeran also became the first artist to debut two songs in the top 10 in the history of the Hot 100, with "Shape of You" also debuting at number one.