Riding high off the most successful solo single of his career, Ed Sheeran brought its official follow-up to the 2017 Billboard Music Awards and delivered a spirited (and remote) performance of “Castle on the Hill” on Sunday night (May 21).
Sporting a black t-shirt that read “HOAX” and playing a guitar with a sticker of a division sign near his thumb, Sheeran demonstrated his trademark guitar loops while flying solo onstage and commanding a mass sing-along during a performance in Santiago, Chile. The studio version of “Castle on the Hill” has a rich guitar-rock production, but Sheeran’s throaty vocals — echoed by thousands of onlookers — more than made up for the difference in the stripped-down take on the song.
In January, Sheeran’s single “Shape of You” became his first No. 1 single as a lead artist on the Hot 100 chart… and the song went on to spend a whopping 12 weeks at the top of the chart. Both “Shape of You” and “Castle on the Hill” come from Sheeran’s third album, ÷, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in March.
Fun fact: Sheeran co-wrote “Strip That Down,” the debut solo single from One Direction member Liam Payne. Click here to listen to the Quavo-assisted new single, and watch the “Castle on the Hill” performance below.
