LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 21: Ed Sheeran performs at The BRIT Awards

Just when it looked like Ed Sheeran’s most recent smash hit single “Perfect” was finally on its way down the charts, it has returned to the uppermost region on the Hot 100, an in doing so, the British singer-songwriter has separated himself from the pack and made history.

This week, “Perfect” is back inside the top 10 on the all-genre Hot 10 after departing the area not too long ago. It’s up to No. 9 once again, and this stint is the song’s twenty-sixth frame inside the region. That means that Sheeran’s latest global blockbuster is one of only 10 songs in U.S. history to live between Nos. 1 and 10 for half a year (though in this case, those 26 weeks were not consecutive). Half a year earning one of the most highly-coveted positions on perhaps the most important of all the charts in the U.S. is a triumph in its own right, and any artist would be lucky to accomplish such a feat...but Sheeran has something truly special to celebrate, as he has actually done this before. “Perfect” is the Grammy winner’s second track to live inside the top 10 for six months, which is something no act before him has managed.


Sheeran’s other recent chart-topper, “Shape of You,” currently holds the record for the most weeks inside the top 10 on the Hot 100 of all time. The tropical pop tune spent 33 frames within the highest tier, which raised the bar by one week and established a new best showing.

Incredibly, both “Shape of You” and “Perfect” are both featured on the musician’s latest full-length ÷ (Divide), which is still going strong well over a year after it was first released. That means that not only is Sheeran the first musician to accomplish see a pair of tracks spent half a year in the top 10, his album Divide is the first to produce two such successful singles, making this an especially important week for the global pop icon.

Both singles spent time at No. 1, with “Shape” owning the Hot 100 for a dozen nonconsecutive spins, while “Perfect” was able to sit atop the throne for half as many. Five of those weeks included Beyoncé as a featured guest, while the final one didn’t, as it wasn’t the re-released version with two vocalists that did the majority of the heavy lifting that time around.