Manny King John
Ed Sheeran, an English singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer released his third studio album called ÷ (pronounced “divide”) on March 3, 2017, through Asylum Records and Atlantic Records. The fifth song on the album is a schmaltzy song called ‘Perfect’.
Sheeran told US Weekly that he wrote the romantic ballad about a late night he spent with his terrific girlfriend, Cherry Seaborn. According to Sheeran,
“The line that goes, ‘Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favourite song’ was about when we were in Ibiza listening to Future’s March Madness literally not wearing any shoes and going mental on the lawn, which was quite a nice time.”
Sheeran released ‘Perfect Duet’, on December 1, 2017. ‘Perfect Duet’, is an acoustic interpretation of ‘Perfect’ that features stirring vocals by Beyoncé. Beyoncé’s inclusion makes the song oodles schmaltzier then Sheeran’s original version on ÷ (pronounced “divide”). She bestows that important female perspective that was nowhere to be found on Sheeran’s original cut, ‘Perfect’.
During an interview with American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer, Ellen DeGeneres, Sheeran told DeGeneres that ‘Perfect’ was Beyoncé’s favourite song from ÷ (pronounced “divide”), and he got in touch with her to re-record the song. Beyoncé agreed, and the two recorded ‘Perfect Duet’ in May 2017.
“The song came out so long ago in the scheme of music now, and I was like “I wanna do it as a single”. Then I thought of a way of relaunching it, and I was like “I love Beyoncé, shall I ask Beyoncé?”, and then in my head, I was like “She’s gonna say no”, and then I was like, “You might as well ask”, and she said yeah.”
Sheeran croons the 1st verse and the 1st chorus himself. Then, Beyoncé comes in to sing the affectionate second verse, “Well I found a man. Stronger than anyone I know. He shares my dreams,” she sings. The sound of Beyoncé’s sublime voice enriched by the combined tones of an acoustic guitar strumming and the harmonious build up of tone on an electric organ. “I hope that someday we’ll share our home. I found a love. To carry more than just my secrets. To carry love. To carry children of our own.” The combination of Ed Sheeran and Beyoncé’s voices interweave during the second chorus through to the end of this magnificent song.
