Celestial (Ed Sheeran song)

"Celestial"
Single by Ed Sheeran
Released	29 September 2022 (2022-09-29)
Genre	Pop
Length	3:29
Label	Asylum Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Ed Sheeran Steve Mac Johnny McDaid
Producer(s)	Ed Sheeran Steve Mac
Ed Sheeran singles chronology
"Lonely Lovers" (2022) "Celestial" (2022) "Call on Me" (2022)
Music video
"Celestial" on YouTube

"Celestial" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, released as a single on 29 September 2022. It was released in collaboration with The Pokémon Company and appears in the end credits of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, released on 18 November 2022.^[1] Sheeran co-wrote the song alongside Steve Mac and Johnny McDaid, and produced it with Mac. The song was released alongside its music video, which includes Sheeran interacting with a variety of Pokémon.

A remix of the song by Toby Fox also appears in the credits of The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC of Scarlet and Violet.^[2]

Background

Ed Sheeran is a self-proclaimed Pokémon fan,^[3][4] and had collaborated with the Pokémon Company before. From 22 to 30 November 2021, Pokémon Go featured an in-game performance by Sheeran.^[5] In August 2022, Sheeran welcomed participants of the 2022 Pokémon World Championships in a video message.^[6][7]

On 22 September 2022,^[3] Sheeran wrote on his Instagram: "I met the people from Pokémon when I was travelling in Japan, and we joked about me writing a song for them", which led to the collaboration.^[8] In a separate statement, Sheeran wrote that he liked Pokémon since primary school, and called it "such an honour to add a song into a Pokémon game and shoot a nostalgic video too".^[9]

Composition

"Celestial" is a pop song in the key of D major, with a tempo of 123 BPM. It is based around a chord progression of G–Bm–D–A (IV–vi–I–V). This progression can also be seen in the song's video, written in a notebook Sheeran keeps.^[10]

Music video

The music video was also released on 29 September 2022, and was directed by Yuichi Kodama.^[11] It depicts Sheeran interacting with a variety of sketch-style Pokémon, including a Snorlax that saves Sheeran from a car accident and a Lapras that takes him across a river. The appearances of the Pokémon were drawn by art director Yu Nagaba. According to an NME article, Nagaba emulated the way Sheeran drew Pokémon when he was younger.^[1]

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Celestial" Chart (2022–2023) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[12] 35 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[13] 28 Belarus Airplay (TopHit)[14] 119 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[15] 7 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[16] 63 CIS Airplay (TopHit)[14] 43 Croatia (HRT)[17] 3 Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100)[18] 2 Denmark (Tracklisten)[19] 34 Estonia Airplay (TopHit)[20] 7 France (SNEP)[21] 73 Germany (GfK)[22] 46 Global 200 (Billboard)[23] 42 Greece International (IFPI)[24] 88 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[25] 22 Ireland (IRMA)[26] 23 Italy (FIMI)[27] 88 Japan (Japan Hot 100)[28] 45 Japan Digital Singles (Oricon)[29] 22 Latvia Airplay (LAIPA)[30] 9 Lebanon (Lebanese Top 20)[31] 7 Lithuania Airplay (TopHit)[32] 19 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[33] 7 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[34] 36 New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[35] 3 Norway (VG-lista)[36] 36 Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[37] 36 Portugal (AFP)[38] 175 Romania Airplay (TopHit)[39] 14 San Marino (SMRRTV Top 50)[40] 1 Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[41] 1 South Africa (TOSAC)[42] 87 South Korea Download (Circle)[43] 71 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[44] 27 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[45] 16 UK Singles (OCC)[46] 6 US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[47] 6

Monthly charts Monthly chart performance for "Celestial" Chart (2023) Peak position CIS Airplay (TopHit)[48] 44 Estonia Airplay (TopHit)[49] 10 Lithuania Airplay (TopHit)[50] 19 Romania Airplay (TopHit)[51] 15 Year-end charts 2022 year-end chart performance for "Celestial" Chart (2022) Position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[52] 108 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[53] 45 2023 year-end chart performance for "Celestial" Chart (2023) Position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[54] 63 CIS Airplay (TopHit)[55] 126 Estonia Airplay (TopHit)[56] 161 Lithuania Airplay (TopHit)[57] 67 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[58] 51 Romania Airplay (TopHit)[59] 83

Certifications

Certifications for "Celestial"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[60]	Gold	45,000^‡
France (SNEP)[61]	Gold	100,000^‡
Italy (FIMI)[62]	Gold	50,000^‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[63]	Gold	15,000^‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[64]	Gold	400,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history and formats for "Celestial"

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
Various	29 September 2022	Digital download streaming	Asylum Atlantic	[1]
Italy	30 September 2022	Radio airplay	Warner	[65]

References

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2. "Pokemon DLC features an Ed Sheeran song remixed by Undertale dev Toby Fox". VGC. 14 December 2023. Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
3. @teddysphotos (22 September 2022). "Instagram post by Sheeran" – via Instagram.
4. Hiatt, Brian (21 March 2023). "Ed Sheeran Confesses: Tears, Trauma, and Those Bad Habits". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023. I am a nerd. I love Lord of the Rings. I love Pokemon.
5. Knezevic, Kevin (24 November 2021). "Pokemon Go teams with Ed Sheeran for an in-game performance and event". CNET. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
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62. "Italian single certifications – Ed Sheeran – Celestial" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 5 March 2023. Select "2023" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Celestial" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
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64. "British single certifications – Ed Sheeran – Celestial". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
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