Hip-Hop Lives Here
Hip-Hop Lives Here
Ed Sheeran is closing out 2021 with a major achievement under his belt. On Wednesday (Dec. 22), the singer posted a video to his Instagram announcing that his 2017 hit “Shape of You” has become the first song in Spotify’s history to reach 3 billion streams.
“I’ve just heard ‘Shape of You’ has reached 3 billion streams on Spotify, which is absolutely insane. I remember this song hitting a billion and thinking that that was weird,” Sheeran said. “The first song to hit 3 billion streams and I’m really, really chuffed with it. Thank you, Spotify, for your support over the years. We’ve had a great 10 years together and hopefully, we have a great 10 years more.”
The 30-year-old also took a brief moment to share some backstory on how the track became a single in the first place, revealing that he went back and forth with Ben Cook — former president of Atlantic Records UK who signed Sheeran — about making “Shape of You” the first single from his 2017 album, ÷ (Divide).
“The song wasn’t meant to make the album … the album wasn’t done, and when I finished the song, Ben Cook from my record label was basically saying, ‘You have to put this on the album, it has to be a single.’ I said to him, ‘I want ‘Castle on the Hill’ to be the first single, that’s going to be bigger,'” Sheeran explained. “We agreed to disagree and put both songs out at once, and I have to say that Ben, I was wrong and you were very much right.”
“Shape of You” would go on to spend a total of 59 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; the tracked stayed at the No. 1 spot for 12 weeks. (“Castle on the Hill,” in comparison, peaked at No. 6 on the chart and enjoyed 33 weeks on the Hot 100.) The success of “Shape of You” — alongside “Castle on the Hill” and “Perfect” — helped ÷ become Sheeran’s second longest charting album to date, spending a total of 250 weeks on the Billboard 200.
Watch Sheeran celebrate his Spotify milestone below.
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Kim Kardashian has opened up about the emotional challenges of raising her children with ex-husband Kanye West, describing their co-parenting situation as a "big burden".
The reality star, who filed to end her marriage to the rapper in 2021, admitted she still worries about Kanye every day and does her best to shield their four children from the difficulties in their relationship.
Speaking to Jonathan Van Meter for his biography Citizen Kim: The Woman Who Created the Future, Kim said: "I spend every day worrying about him. He's the father of my children, and that's something I'll always care about.
"Having children with someone you don't always see eye to eye with comes with a heavy responsibility. But my children would never realise that."
She continued: "I try my hardest to put all the difficult things that have happened behind me. I have to be realistic, and my therapist always reminds me that I need stronger boundaries. Still, we've found a way to raise our children together without too many disagreements."
Although Kim doesn't expect their relationship to improve significantly, she explained that things have been "pretty smooth" lately, largely because they have limited contact with each other.
Kim also revealed that she regularly invites Kanye to visit their home, often reaching out to him through his wife, Bianca Censori, or his manager. She admitted that she sometimes makes up explanations for their children when he isn't around.
"Trying to co-parent with someone who only shows up every few months can be difficult, but I'll tell them things like, 'Oh, Dad's away travelling,'" she explained. "I still come up with stories to protect them because I want them to see their father in the best possible light."
When asked how frequently Kanye, whose hit song Stronger helped cement his place in music history, spends time with their children, the Skims founder suggested looking online for the answer, explaining that "every time they're with him they're photographed, you'll see".
Kim also shared how she responds when Kanye makes controversial remarks that attract widespread media attention, revealing that she immediately puts strict rules in place at home to keep her children away from the coverage.
"Everyone in my household knows exactly what I mean when I send a text saying we're on 'lockdown'. It means no television, just movies. No radio either, and we'll connect a phone to play music in the car instead. We don't even put on Sirius XM because they discuss breaking news as it happens. My children shouldn't have to be involved in any of that," she said.
Kim and Kanye married in 2014 and have four children together: daughters North, 13, and Chicago, eight, and sons Saint, 10, and Psalm, seven. Their divorce was officially finalised in 2022.
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