"New Man"
Song by Ed Sheeran
from the album ÷
Released3 March 2017 (2017-03-03)
Recorded2016
GenreR&B[1]
Length3:09
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Benny Blanco

"New Man" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran from his third studio album ÷ (2017).[2] It was written and produced by Sheeran and Benny Blanco, and co-written with Ammar Malik and Jessie Ware. It is the eighth track on the album. After the album's release, the song peaked at number 5 on the UK Singles Chart.[3] It has been certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales of over 400,000.

Background

According to Sheeran, he originally intended the song to be in the album only as a bonus track. However, the label insisted that the song should be included in the main album, and it would be the only track in the album he allowed to be included at someone else's insistence. He said that the song is not about any specific person, although parts of the lyrics was inspired by people he had met. He had just finished writing another song with Jessie Ware and she suggested that they try to write something for him. He said: "I've had this idea about writing the f-ckboy anthem. 'Cos like, we all know them, we've all been them at some point. I was basically like, let's write a list of the things, like you know when your ex leaves you and the first guy she gets with, [...] what that guy is like."[4]

The song features vocals from Francis and the Lights at the end.[5]

Critical reception

Taylor Weatherby of Billboard named this song the one with the "craziest lyrics" of ÷. She also noticed that "Sheeran found a way to include the phrase "bleached arsehole" into a song (the line "He's got his eyebrows plucked and his arsehole bleached," in the first verse), it definitely can't go unmentioned—especially since Kanye West was the last major artist to incorporate that graphic phrase. Coincidence that West's wife Kim Kardashian is also mentioned in "New Man"? We may never know."[6]

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[24] 2× Platinum 140,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[25] Platinum 80,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[26] Gold 45,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[27] Gold 25,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)[28] Gold 25,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[30] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Ed Sheeran – ÷ Review". NME. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  2. ^ O'Connor, Roisin (3 March 2017). "Ed Sheeran, Divide, album review: Singer-songwriter's third record is impressive for ambition alone". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-06-18. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  3. ^ "Divide and conquer: Ed Sheeran smashes UK chart records with new album and dominates singles rankings". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  4. ^ Zane Lowe (3 February 2017). Zane Lowe and Ed Sheeran, Pt 2. iTunes. Event occurs at 30:35–33:10.
  5. ^ Riddell, Rose (6 March 2017). "Top 5 Ed Sheeran collaborations on new album '÷'". Coup De Main.
  6. ^ Weatherby, Taylor (3 March 2017). "Ed Sheeran's 'Divide': Superlatives for All 16 Tracks on the Album". Billboard. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  7. ^ "Ed Sheeran – New Man". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  8. ^ "Ed Sheeran – New Man" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  9. ^ "Ed Sheeran Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  10. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201710 into search. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  11. ^ "Track Top-40 Uge 10, 2017". Hitlisten. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  12. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles - SNEP (Week 10, 2017)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 19 March 2017.[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ "Ed Sheeran – New Man" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  14. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Stream Top 40 slágerlista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  15. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – New Man". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  16. ^ "Classifica settimanale WK 10" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  17. ^ "Ed Sheeran – New Man" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  18. ^ "Ed Sheeran – New Man". VG-lista. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  19. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201710 into search. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  20. ^ "Ed Sheeran – New Man". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  21. ^ "Ed Sheeran: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  22. ^ "Ed Sheeran Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  23. ^ "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2017". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  24. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2022 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  25. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Ed Sheeran – New Man". Music Canada. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  26. ^ "Danish single certifications". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  27. ^ "Italian single certifications – Ed Sheeran – New man" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 13 August 2018. Select "2018" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "New man" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  28. ^ "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2021 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  29. ^ "British single certifications – Ed Sheeran – New Man". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  30. ^ "American single certifications – Ed Sheeran – New Man". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
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