Why Ed Sheeran Felt He Had to Release ‘Bad Habits’ Before ‘Shivers’
“Shivers” is a big hit for Ed Sheeran right now. During an interview, Sheeran explained why it took him an especially long time to write the song. He also discussed why he felt he had to release “Bad Habits” as a single before “Shivers.”
Why Ed Sheeran gave his most recent album a title that wasn’t the title fans expected
Over the course of his career, Sheeran has released albums called +, x, and ÷. According to GQ, some fans expected him to release an album titled -. Instead, he named his most recent album =. Sheeran said “Shivers” helped him decide on the name of the album.
“I was making the record and I wrote a song called ‘Shivers’ and I was like, ‘This doesn’t really feel like –,’ same with another song called ‘Overpass Graffiti,'” he said. “And none of these songs fitted in with what – would be, eventually. For me, – is going to be like Damien Rice’s O, David Grey’s White Ladder or James Blunt‘s Back To Bedlam. It’s an acoustic record and these songs were big, upbeat things.”
Ed Sheeran felt ‘Bad Habits’ and ‘Shivers’ were suited for different seasons
In a 2021 Instagram post, Sheeran revealed “Shivers” took an especially long time to write. “So my second official single from my 4th studio album is called ‘Shivers,’ and it’s out September 10th,” Sheeran wrote. “I wrote this as soon as the Divide tour ended in a rented farm in Suffolk where we had set up a studio for a couple of weeks to see what happened. It was written over the course of 3 days which is very different for me, but I felt it was too special to get wrong.”
Sheeran revealed he initially intended “Shivers” to be the lead single from the album instead of “Bad Habits.” However, he ultimately felt “Bad Habits” was a song for summer while “Shiver” was a song for autumn, so he released “Bad Habits” first. Sheeran was proud of “Shivers” and hoped his fans would enjoy it as well.
The way audiences in the United States and the United Kingdom reacted to ‘Shivers’
“Shivers” became a huge hit. So far, the song has peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 22 weeks. Meanwhile, = hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for a week. = stayed on the chart for 15 weeks.
“Shivers” became even more popular in the United Kingdom. According to The Official Charts Company, the song was No. 1 for four weeks there. It has spent 22 weeks on the chart thus far. = peaked at No. 1 for three weeks of its 15 weeks on the chart. Sheeran took an extra-long time to write “Shivers” — and that time has paid off.
