Castle on the Hill

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For other uses, see Castle on the Hill (disambiguation).
"Castle on the Hill"
File:Castle On The Hill (Official Single Cover) by Ed Sheeran.png
Single by Ed Sheeran
from the album ÷
Released 6 January 2017 (2017-01-06)
Recorded 2016
Genre
Length
  • 4:21
  • 4:01 (Radio Disney version)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Script error: The function "ucfirst" does not exist. singles chronology
"Lay It All on Me"
(2015)		 "Castle on the Hill"
(2017)		 "Shape of You"
(2017)
Music video
"Castle on the Hill" on YouTube

"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 double lead singles from his third studio album ÷ (2017), along with "Shape of You".[4] "Castle on the Hill" was written and produced by Ed Sheeran and Benny Blanco. The song refers to Framlingham Castle in Sheeran's home town.

Released on the same day as "Shape of You", "Castle on the Hill" reached number two in a number of countries, including the UK, Australia and Germany, while "Shape of You" debuted at number one. It was first time in the history of the UK, Australian and German charts that an artist has taken the top two chart positions with new songs.[5][6][7] The song debuted at number six in the US, while "Shape of You" entered at number one; this made Sheeran the first artist ever to have two songs simultaneously debut in the US top 10.[8]

Background

Framlingham Castle, the castle mentioned in the song.[9]

The theme of the song surrounds Sheeran's home town of Framlingham, and he reminisces tales of 'smoking hand-rolled cigarettes' and getting 'drunk [with] friends' at this place, living life as a teenager. The castle mentioned in the song is Framlingham Castle, and in January 2017, Sheeran was invited to perform at the Castle.[9]

The song was written and recorded in 2015. Sheeran revealed that despite a similarity to the music of U2, the direct influence of the song came from "Fallen Empires" by Snow Patrol, a band he had toured with. He said: "I grew up on Snow Patrol, I didn't grow up on U2, but I know that Snow Patrol grew up on U2, so I know [where] that influence had come [from]." He also said he wanted to make a song like "The River" by Bruce Springsteen, a song with similar reflective element.[10]

Critical reception

Jon Caramanica from The 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."[11] 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."[12] 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 hook-free 'Tiny Dancer,' because Ed Sheeran saw Almost Famous once."[13] 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 hand-rolled cigarettes' and 'running from the law in the backfields'."[14]

Chart performance

"Castle on the Hill" debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart on 13 January, selling 193,000 combined units 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.[15] The song was certified silver in the first week due to selling 200,000 units. The song remained at number two in its second week, selling 100,000 units. The song spent a further three weeks at number two, and spent fourteen weeks in the top ten altogether. As of September 2017, the song has sold 1.7 million combined units in the UK, 479,000 of these are actual sales, with 119 million streams.[16] On the Scottish Singles Chart, "Castle on the Hill" debuted at number one, ahead of "Shape of You".[17]

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.[18] Sheeran also became the first artist to debut two songs in the top 10 in the same week in the history of the Hot 100, with "Shape of You" also debuting at number one.[18] As of September 2017, "Castle on the Hill" has sold 821,000 downloads in the US.[19]

Music video

File:Eastward Ho!, Felixstowe.jpg
Enclosed children's play area at Eastward Ho!, Felixstowe. Location is featured in the music video.

"Castle on the Hill" was accompanied by a lyric video on 5 January 2017 with "Shape of You" upon its release.[20] As of March 2018, it has amassed over 300 million views on YouTube.[21]

The official music video for the song was released on 23 January 2017. It was directed by George Belfield and produced by Tom Gardner, and it features a group of adolescents living their youth with parallels being made to Sheeran's own youth.[22] The video was filmed throughout Suffolk with locations including Framlingham, Boyton marshes, Mildenhall Stadium and Felixstowe. The final shot shows Framlingham Castle.[23] Ed Sheeran stated on The Graham Norton Show that the young man playing him in the video went to the same school as Sheeran, Thomas Mills High School.[24]

In popular culture

The song was used in trailers and several TV spots for the 2017 animated film Ferdinand.

The song is also used in the first trailer and a few TV spots for the 2019 animated film How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.[25]

Formats and track listings

  • Digital download[26]
  1. "Castle on the Hill" – 4:21
  • Digital download – Acoustic[27]
  1. "Castle on the Hill" (Acoustic) – 3:46
  • Digital download – Live at the BRITs[28]
  1. "Castle on the Hill" (Live at the BRITs) – 1:47
  • German CD single[29]
  1. "Castle on the Hill" – 4:21
  2. "Castle on the Hill" (Acoustic) – 3:46
  • Digital download – Seeb remix[30]
  1. "Castle on the Hill" (Seeb remix) – 3:51
  • Digital download – Throttle remix[31]
  1. "Castle on the Hill" (Throttle remix) – 3:40
  • Digital download – W&W remix[32]
  1. "Castle on the Hill" (W&W remix) – 3:33

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[108] 7× Platinum 490,000
Austria (IFPI Austria)[109] Platinum 30,000
Belgium (BEA)[110] Platinum 30,000
Canada (Music Canada)[111] 6× Platinum 60,000
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[112] 2× Platinum 60,000
France (SNEP)[113] Platinum 150,000
Germany (BVMI)[114] 3× Gold 450,000
Italy (FIMI)[115] 3× Platinum 90,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[116] 3× Platinum 45,000
Poland (ZPAV)[117] 2× Platinum 40,000
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[118] Platinum 40,000
Sweden (GLF)[119] 4× Platinum 160,000
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[120] 2× Platinum 60,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[121] 4× Platinum 1,800,000[16]
United States (RIAA)[122] 3× Platinum 3,000,000[123]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone
double-daggersales/streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region Date Format Version Label Ref.
United Kingdom 6 January 2017 Contemporary hit radio Original Asylum [124]
United States 16 January 2017 Adult album alternative Atlantic [125]
United Kingdom 10 February 2017 Digital download Acoustic Asylum [27]
United States 22 February 2017 Live at the BRITs [28]
Germany 24 February 2017 CD single Original [29]
United States 12 April 2017 Hot adult contemporary Atlantic [19]
18 April 2017 Contemporary hit radio [126]
Various 19 May 2017 Digital download Seeb remix Asylum [30]
30 June 2017 Throttle remix [31]

See also

References

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  108. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  109. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter Ed Sheeran in the field Interpret. Enter Castle on the Hill in the field Titel. Select single in the field Format. Click Suchen
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  111. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  112. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  115. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Select Online in the field Sezione. Enter Ed Sheeran in the field Filtra. Select 2018 in the field Anno. The certification will load automatically
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  117. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  118. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Select the "Chart", enter ' in the field "Year". Select ' in the field "Semana". Click on "Search Charts"
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  120. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  121. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter Castle on the Hill in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  122. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
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External links

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