<P> "Shape of You" is a pop, dancehall and tropical house song with "strummy acoustics ." In the song, Sheeran sings over a marimba - fueled percussive sway about a budding romance . "The club isn't the best place to find a lover, so the bar is where I go / Me and my friends at the table doing shots drinking fast and then we talk slow", he sings . "Come over and start up a conversation with just me / And trust me I'll give it a chance ." According to NT News, the song "tells the story of loved (or lusted) up Sheeran meeting a girl in a bar where he and his mates are doing shots ." "Shape of You" is written in the key of C ♯ minor with a tempo of 96 beats per minute . The song is composed in common time (time), and follows a basic chord progression of C ♯ m--F ♯ m--A--B (i--iv--VI--VII), and Sheeran's vocals span from G ♯ to G ♯ . </P> <P> The song's lyrical rhythm drew comparisons to the TLC song "No Scrubs", particularly in the pre-chorus line, "Boy, let's not talk too much / Grab on my waist and put that body on me ." As a result, the composers of "No Scrubs", Kandi Burruss, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, and Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, were awarded co-writing credits on "Shape of You". </P> <P> Jon Caramanica from The New York Times said, "' Shape of You' is trickier, a nimble and effective song that takes the aggressive thinning of' Caribbean music' ." Billboard's Taylor Weatherby wrote about the song saying, "' Shape of You' doesn't quite sound like your typical Sheeran tune . But that almost serves as an indication of what the "Thinking Out Loud" singer has been up to during his hiatus: creating music that still feels like Sheeran, just with a new twist ." Jeremy Gordon of Spin gave the song a positive review, stating that the song "is a plausible attempt at convincing us he has had sex...a lot of it . It kind of slaps, though you can't really picture Sheeran ever saying' put that body on me' to a real human woman ." News website Metro wrote that it sounds similar to the song "Cheap Thrills" by Sia . </P> <P> "Shape of You" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 13 January, selling 227,000 combined units in its first week . Sheeran also debuted at number 2 with the song "Castle on the Hill", making him the only artist in UK chart history to debut in the top two positions . "Shape of You" debuted at number two on the Scottish Singles Chart behind "Castle on the Hill". The song was certified Silver in the first week due to selling 200,000 units and Gold in the second week selling 400,000 units . The song remained at number one in its second week, selling 139,000 . It has stayed at number one for 13 consecutive weeks on the UK Singles Chart, and a further week at the top after a week's interruption by Harry Styles' "Sign of the Times". In July 2017, the song reached 184 million in streams, making it the most - streamed song in the UK of all time . It was the nation's highest selling and most streamed track of 2017 with 787,000 copies sold and 248 million streams throughout the year, to produce a combined sales of 3.2 million . It is the 3rd best - selling single in the United Kingdom regarding combined sales and streaming equivalent as of September 19, 2017 . </P>

In love with the shape of you song