Tenerife Sea

"Tenerife Sea" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was written by Sheeran, Johnny McDaid of Snow Patrol, and Foy Vance, and produced by 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 and peaked at number 62.

"Tenerife Sea"
Song by Ed Sheeran
from the album x
Released20 June 2014
GenreFolk pop
Length4:02
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Rick Rubin

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 lady's eyes are as blue as the seas in Tenerife, "seriously blue, like electric blue".[2] The lyrics speak of Sheeran's girlfriend at the time, "Beth",[2] who he thinks of as "really pretty" in her dress.[1] Despite rumours, the song is not actually related to fellow singer-songwriter Taylor Swift.

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]

Charts and certifications

References
  1. Cruz, Emilie (1 November 2013). "Ed Sheeran Turns NYC Club Into Gingerbread House (Full Of Treats!) On Halloween". MTV. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  2. 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. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. 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. Roberts, Randall (24 June 2014). "Ed Sheeran multiplies his star quotient". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  6. 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. 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. 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.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  26. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201546 into search. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  27. "Chart Track: Week 31, 2015". Irish Singles Chart.
  28. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201450 into search. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  29. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  30. "Canadian single certifications – Ed Sheeran – Tenerife Sea". Music Canada. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  31. "Danish single certifications – Ed Sheeran – Tenerife Sea". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  32. "Italian single certifications – Ed Sheeran – Tenerife Sea" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. 30 October 2017.
  33. "British single certifications – Ed Sheeran – Tenerife Sea". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  34. "American single certifications – Ed Sheeran – Tenerife Sea". Recording Industry Association of America. 15 July 2016.
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