Tenerife Sea

"Tenerife Sea"
Song by Ed Sheeran from the album x
Released 20 June 2014
Format Digital download
Genre Pop, acoustic
Length 4:00
Label
Writer(s)
Producer(s) Rick Rubin

"Tenerife Sea" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was co-written by Snow Patrol member Johnny McDaid and Foy Vance, and features production from Rick Rubin. The song was released on 20 June 2014 as part of his second studio album, x. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number 93 despite lacking an independent release.

Background and composition

Sheeran wrote "Tenerife Sea" while in Nashville,[1] the capital of the US state of Tennessee. It was inspired by the events following the 2013 Grammy Awards, wherein his single "The A Team" was nominated for Song of the Year, a first Grammy nomination for Sheeran. He lost the award to the American band Fun for its song "We Are Young". Along with his girlfriend, Sheeran attended the after-party where he, being in a new experience, felt uninterested participating in the conversations. According to Sheeran, "neither of [them] wanted to be there - you just want to be with this one person".[2] He also told The San Francisco Examiner: "It was a very odd atmosphere, where everyone was out for themselves. And I found myself being competitive, as well, and pissed off that I didn’t win, which felt very unhealthy."[3]

An area in Villaflor, Tenerife. Sheeran likened the hue of his girlfriend's eyes to that of the seas around Tenerife.

"Tenerife Sea" is a love song,[4][5] in which Sheeran's vocals are multi-tracked.[6] Randall Roberts of the Los Angeles Times likened the song to that of Eric Clapton's 1977 ballad "Wonderful Tonight" and Ginuwine's "In Those Jeans".[5]

The song's title is a reference to Tenerife in the Canary Islands of Spain. According to Sheeran, the hue of his girlfriend's eyes are as blue as the seas in Tenerife, "seriously blue, like electric blue".[2] The lyrics speaks of Sheeran's girlfriend[2] who he sees "really pretty" in her dress.[1]

Debut and response

"Tenerife Sea" was released on 20 June 2014 as part of Sheeran's second studio album, x, serving as its eighth track. However, the song had been performed live in both the US and Sheeran's home country prior to the parent album's release. In the US, Sheeran performed "Tenerife Sea" in October 2013 at a concert in Madison Square Garden.[7] He also sang "Tenerife Sea" at an intimate NYC-based Mercury Lounge show, where he performed two other new songs, although recording was not allowed.[1] On 24 March 2014, Sheeran debuted the song at London's Royal Albert Hall for the Teenage Cancer Trust benefit show.[8] Few British media noted the song, which was thought of hinting at the same musical style Sheeran would be taking for his then-unreleased second album.[9][10]

The song was particularly popular in streaming services on theme-specific playlists. In April 2015, commercial streaming company Spotify released a report of the most-streamed tracks worldwide under the category sleep. "Tenerife Sea" is placed at number 14, joining Sheeran's other 6 songs ranked in the top 20.[11] Sleep is one of Spotify's most popular categories "that people also use for general relaxation and to help themselves unwind".[11][12] The Guardian columnist Tim Dowling suggests that the report is an indication of "very popular, slightly mellow songs that keep cropping up on sleep playlists" but not a list of a "carefully curated journey to unconsciousness".[13] In June 2015, Spotify compiled the most popular first dance songs based on an analysis of 400,000 wedding playlists worldwide. "Tenerife Sea" was the fifth most popular.[14]

Critical and commercial reception

"Tenerife Sea" was noted by critics and journalists. In an article written for Valentine's Day, Marika Azzopardi of The Malta Independent compiled "some great moments of love in the arts",[15] including "Tenerife Sea" among other songs. Azzopardi writes that Sheeran "goes all soft and summery" with the song.[15] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called "Tenerife Sea" an "unreserved love song".[6] Allison Stewart of The Washington Post noted Sheeran's layered vocals, writing: "'Tenerife Sea' is lush and gorgeous, its vocals stacked to the heavens."[16] Jim Beviglia of the American Songwriter thought that although "tidy", "Tenerife Sea" comes "toothless" compared with the "daring confessionals" Sheeran made in the album's other tracks.[17]

Jon Dolan of the Rolling Stone called "Tenerife Sea" an "oversweet ballad".[18] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard had the same thought, calling it a "sticky-sweet" wedding song.[19] Writing for The Irish Times, Lauren Murphy noted that the album's few songs, including "Tenerife Sea", are "simply dull".[20] Kitty Empire of The Guardian thinks that the song "dwells at simpering length on how wonderful a girl looks in her dress".[21]

Due to high streaming rates, all of the album's 12 tracks, including "Tenerife Sea", entered the UK Singles Chart.[22] The song debuted at number 93, has peaked at number 62 and spent 7 weeks on the chart.[23] Elsewhere, "Tenerife Sea" peaked at number 53 in Ireland and number 86 in Slovakia. Although it did not appear in the overall singles chart in the US, "Tenerife Sea" entered at number 24 on the Billboard Twitter Top Tracks chart. This chart activity is ascribed to the acoustic version performed by Jame McVey, guitarist of the British pop group The Vamps, whose video was uploaded in YouTube.[24]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from x album liner notes:[25]

  • Ed Sheeran – vocals, guitar
  • Johnny McDaid – keys
  • Rick Rubin – production
  • Jason Lader – recording, bass, keys
  • Sean Oakley – additional recording, recording assistance, digital editing
  • Joshua Smith – recording assistance
  • Eric Lynn – recording assistance, keys
  • Dace Hanych – production coordination
  • Ricardo Kim – production assistance
  • Johnnie Burik – production assistance
  • Eric Cardieux – digital editing
  • Christian "Leggy" Langdon – digital editing
  • Mike "Spike" Stent – mixing
  • Geoff Swan – engineering
  • Blake Mills – guitar
  • Adam MacDougall – keys
  • Chris Dave – drums
  • Lenny Castro – percussion
  • Luis Conte – percussion
  • Stuart Hawkes – mastering

Charts and certifications

Chart (2014–15) Peak
position
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[26] 93
Ireland (IRMA)[27] 53
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[28] 71
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[29] 62
Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[30] Gold 0^
Italy (FIMI)[31] Gold 25,000double-dagger
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Silver 200,000double-dagger
United States (RIAA)[33] Gold 500,000double-dagger

^shipments figures based on certification alone
double-daggersales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References

  1. 1 2 3 Cruz, Emilie (1 November 2013). "Ed Sheeran Turns NYC Club Into Gingerbread House (Full Of Treats!) On Halloween". MTV. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Music-News.com Newsdesk (29 June 2014). "Ed Sheeran talks through new album". music-news.com. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  3. ↑ Lanham, Tom (26 August 2014). "Ed Sheeran a man of many musical projects". The San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  4. ↑ Wood, Mikael (24 June 2014). "Ed Sheeran: Pop stardom's thoughtful misfit". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  5. 1 2 Roberts, Randall (24 June 2014). "Ed Sheeran multiplies his star quotient". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  6. 1 2 Caramanica, Jon (19 June 2014). "Ed Sheeran, Lighter and Wiser, Releases 'x'". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  7. ↑ Kaufman, Gil (20 March 2014). "If Ed Sheeran Sees His Own Shadow, Will He Drop A New Single In April?". MTV. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  8. ↑ Talbot, Martin (25 March 2014). "Ed Sheeran and Passenger unveil new songs at Teenage Cancer Trust show". Official Charts. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  9. ↑ "Teenage Cancer Trust: Ed Sheeran, Royal Albert Hall - music review". London Evening Standard. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  10. ↑ Lachno, James (25 March 2014). "Ed Sheeran, Royal Albert Hall, review: 'more Aerosmith than Damien Rice'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  11. 1 2 Billboard Staff (13 April 2015). "Spotify Says Ed Sheeran Dominates the World's Sleep Playlists". Billboard. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  12. ↑ Angel, Meredith (16 April 2015). "Ed Sheeran puts Spotify users to sleep the most". New York Daily News. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  13. ↑ Dowling, Tim (14 April 2015). "Spotify's top 20 songs to help you sleep: we put them to the test". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  14. ↑ Bowden, Ebony (8 June 2015). "Ed Sheeran, John Legend: These are the most popular wedding songs in Australia". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  15. 1 2 Azzopardi, Marika (15 February 2015). "February's extravaganza of the heart". The Malta Independent. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  16. ↑ Stewart, Allison (23 June 2014). "Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran — young Brits in search of love and slightly better songs". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  17. ↑ Beviglia, Jim (23 June 2014). "Ed Sheeran: X". American Songwriter. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  18. ↑ Dolan, Jon (23 June 2014). "X". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  19. ↑ Lipshutz, Jason (18 December 2014). "The 14 Best Pop Albums of 2014". Billboard. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  20. ↑ Murphy, Lauren (20 June 2014). "Ed Sheeran: x". The Irish Times. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  21. ↑ Empire, Kitty (22 June 2014). "x review – Ed Sheeran's second album has a broad palette but lacks depth". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  22. ↑ Vincent, Alice (2 December 2014). "Ed Sheeran saves album sales". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  23. ↑ "Tenerife Sea". Official Charts. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  24. ↑ Gruger, William (8 August 2014). "No 'Lie' - Lucy Hale Makes Big Social 50 Chart Gain". Billboard. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  25. ↑ x (Deluxe Edition Compact Disc liner notes). Ed Sheeran. Warner Music. 2014.
  26. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201546 into search. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 31, 2015". Irish Singles Chart.
  28. ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201450 into search. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  29. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2014-07-06" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  30. ↑ "Danish single certifications – Ed Sheeran – Tenerife Sea". IFPI Denmark. 3 October 2015. Click on næste to go to page if certification from official website
  31. ↑ "Italian single certifications – Ed Sheeran – Tenerife Sea" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. 9 May 2016. Select Online in the field Sezione. Enter Ed Sheeran in the field Filtra. Select 2016 in the field Anno. The certification will load automatically
  32. ↑ "British single certifications – Ed Sheeran – Tenerife Sea". British Phonographic Industry. 3 October 2015. Enter Tenerife Sea in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
  33. ↑ "American single certifications – Ed Sheeran – Tenerife Sea". Recording Industry Association of America. July 15, 2016. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
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