"Perfect" is a song by English singer Ed Sheeran from his third studio album, ÷ (2017). After the album was released, the song reached number four on the UK Singles Chart. On August 21, 2017, Billboard announced that "Perfect" would be the fourth single from the album. The song was sent to pop radio stations on September 26, 2017, as the third single from the album in the United States (fourth overall). A second version of the single, called "Perfect Duet," featuring American singer Beyoncé, was released on December 1, 2017. Another duet with Italian singer Andrea Bocelli, named "Perfect Symphony," came out on December 15, 2017.
The original version of the song first reached number four on the UK Singles Chart in March 2017. It returned to the chart later that year. After the "Duet" version was released, the song reached number one on the UK Chart in December 2017. Because the "Duet" version sold more copies than the original, Beyoncé was listed on several official sales charts. This made Beyoncé's sixth number one song on the Billboard Hot 100 and Sheeran's second. The song also reached number one in 26 other countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and many European and Latin American countries.
The original song's music video received three nominations at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards.
Composition and production
"Perfect" was the first song Ed Sheeran wrote for his third studio album, ÷.
The song is a romantic song about traditional marriage. It was inspired by his future wife, Cherry Seaborn, whom he met in school and later reconnected with when she worked in New York. Sheeran said the lyrics came to him after visiting James Blunt’s house in Ibiza, where they listened to the rapper Future’s music early in the morning. He explained, "I was barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song, which was Future’s 'March Madness.' I booked a studio for the day, and I worked on the song. It was mostly finished that day. I knew it was special."
Sheeran created the song himself with help from Will Hicks. The music included string arrangements made by his brother, Matthew Sheeran. This was the first time the brothers worked together on a song. Their grandmother had suggested they collaborate before she passed away. Later, the same string arrangement was used in a recording with Andrea Bocelli. A different version of the song with slightly changed lyrics, featuring Camila Cabello and Nicholas Galitzine, was included in the Cinderella (2021) soundtrack.
The song is written in the key of A♭ major (G major during live performances) with a tempo of 194 beats per minute. The rhythm uses 8 time (if not using triplets) or 4 time (if using triplets). The chord progression in the song follows A♭–Fm–D♭–E♭. The vocal range in the song spans from E♭3 to A♭4.
In September 2023, when asked which of his songs he thought would define his career, like his song "Yesterday," Sheeran said, "Perfect."
Commercial performance
In March 2017, Ed Sheeran broke a record set by Frankie Laine in 1953 by having all five of the top songs on the UK Singles Chart. Nine of his songs from his new album ÷ were in the top ten. All sixteen songs from the album ÷ entered the top twenty. The song "Perfect" reached number four on the chart and sold 62,599 copies. After Sheeran performed "Perfect" on The X Factor on November 26, 2017, the song reached a new high of number three and sold 32,507 units. The Beyoncé version of the song, released on December 1, 2017, increased sales to 89,359 (including 45,460 from streams). This made "Perfect" Sheeran's second number-one song from ÷, following "Shape of You," and his fourth number-one single overall.
With 1,048,313 sales in the UK, "Perfect" became Sheeran's tenth million-selling single. It was the Christmas number one in 2017, beating songs by Wham!, Eminem ft. Ed Sheeran, Clean Bandit ft. Julia Michaels, The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl, Rita Ora, and Mariah Carey. It stayed at number one for six weeks before being replaced by Eminem's "River," which features Sheeran. "Perfect" previously held the record for the most weeks on the UK top 75, but this was later broken by Lewis Capaldi's "Someone You Loved."
In the United States, ten songs from ÷ debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 2017, including "Perfect" at number thirty-seven. By October, "Perfect" reached number eighteen and became the third song from ÷ to enter the top twenty. It also climbed to number three on Digital Songs (50,000 downloads), number thirty on Radio Songs (45 million plays), and number thirty-five on Streaming Songs (11.5 million streams). On October 30, 2017, "Perfect" entered the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. It reached number three on Digital Song Sales (53,000 downloads), number ten on Radio Songs (53 million plays), and number twenty-seven on Streaming Songs (13.1 million streams).
On November 20, 2017, "Perfect" reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and entered the top ten on Radio Songs (73 million plays). It became Sheeran's seventh top ten song on Radio Songs and the third from ÷, following "Shape of You" and "Castle on the Hill." The next week, "Perfect" entered the top five on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the second-highest-charting song from ÷, after "Shape of You." It was Sheeran's third top five hit overall, following "Thinking Out Loud," which reached number two in 2015.
On December 4, 2017, "Perfect" reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and became Sheeran's third number-one song on Digital Song Sales (69,000 downloads). The Beyoncé version helped boost sales, with the duet accounting for 18 percent of total sales during the week of November 30. On December 11, 2017, "Perfect" topped the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Sheeran's second number-one song in the US and Beyoncé's sixth as a solo artist. It sold 181,000 copies, with the Beyoncé version making up 63 percent of sales. The song also reached number three on Streaming Songs (34.9 million streams) and number three on Radio Songs (102 million plays). The duet version held the number-one spot for five weeks before the original version returned to the top in January 2018. "Perfect" was the seventh best-selling song of 2017 in the US (1,340,000 copies) and the best-selling song of 2018 (1,300,000 copies).
The original version of "Perfect" reached number one in Austria, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Netherlands, Philippines, Poland, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, and the UK. After the Beyoncé duet was released, the song also reached number one in Australia, Denmark, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Sweden, and the US. Sales of the original version and the duet with Beyoncé and Andrea Bocelli helped the song reach number one in the UK in late 2017. It was Sheeran's fourth number-one song in Australia, holding the top spot for eight weeks before being replaced by Drake's "God's Plan." In April 2023, "Perfect" reached its 312th week on the Australian top 100, making it the longest-charting song in Australian history. It also reached number one in Canada, becoming Sheeran's second number-one song there and Beyoncé's first. As of January 3, 2019, the song had sold 207,000 digital copies in Canada.
Music video
On September 22, 2017, a video with lyrics for the song "Perfect" was posted on Ed Sheeran's YouTube channel. The full music video for "Perfect" was released on November 9, 2017, also on Sheeran's YouTube channel. The video features Zoey Deutch and was directed by Jason Koenig, who also directed the video for "Shape of You." The video was filmed at Hintertux Glacier, an Austrian ski resort. It shows Sheeran and Deutch going on a ski trip with friends, dancing in the snow, and ending up in a cabin together.
Ross McNeilage, a writer for MTV UK, described the video as a "Christmas dream" because of its winter-themed visuals. He praised the simple story and the video's visual style. He noted that Zoey Deutch plays the role of Sheeran's love interest, and the video shows them flirt shyly until they realize their feelings for each other and slow dance in the snow. As of March 2026, the music video has been viewed more than 4.1 billion times on YouTube, making it the 25th most viewed video on the site. It was nominated for Song of the Year, Best Pop Video, and Best Direction at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards.
Releases
In November 2017, Sheeran made an acoustic version of "Perfect" available, as well as two remixes by Mike Perry and Robin Schulz.
Credits and personnel
- Ed Sheeran – main and background singing, acoustic guitar
- Laurie Anderson, Meghan Cassidy, Rachel Roberts, and Kotono Sato – viola
- Mandhira De Saram, Matthew Denton, Martyn Jackson, Magnus Johnston, Marije Johnston, Simon Hewitt Jones, Patrick Kiernan, and Jan Regulski – violin I
- Fenella Barton, James Dickenson, Alison Dods, Kirsty Mangan, Jeremy Morris, and Deborah Widdup – violin II
- Leon Bosch – double bass
- Nick Cartledge – flute and piccolo
- Nick Cooper, Katherine Jenkinson, and Tim Lowe – cello
- Charys Green – clarinet
- Will Hicks – electric guitar, percussion, and music programming
- Jay Lewis – drums
- Pino Palladino – bass
- Matthew Sheeran – arrangements for string instruments
- Hilary Skewes – coordination
- John Tilley – piano and Hammond organ
"Perfect Duet" version
On December 1, 2017, an American singer named Beyoncé released a song called "Perfect Duet" worldwide. The song became very popular, selling many copies and reaching the top of several music charts, including the Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian Hot 100.
This version of the song is simpler than the original, using an acoustic guitar instead of an electric guitar. Beyoncé sings the second verse from a woman's point of view. Ed Sheeran said this was Beyoncé's favorite song from the album and asked her to re-record it. Beyoncé agreed, and both artists recorded the song in May 2017.
Beyoncé sang her part during the On the Run II Tour in 2018. On December 2, 2018, exactly one year after the song was released, Ed Sheeran and Beyoncé performed "Perfect Duet" live for the first time at the 2018 Global Citizen Festival in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Nina Braca of Billboard wrote that the acoustic guitar made the song feel more personal. She noted that Beyoncé's strong singing helped make the song stand out, and the two artists sounded well-matched when they sang together.
"Perfect Symphony" version
A special version of the song "Perfect," performed by Andrea Bocelli with opera-style music and titled "Perfect Symphony," was released on December 15, 2017. This version includes some Italian lyrics and was added to Bocelli's 2024 collection of songs called Duets (30th Anniversary).
A version of the song with music played by a full orchestra was recorded at Abbey Road Studios. However, only parts of this version were used in the original release. The complete orchestral version was included in the duet with Andrea Bocelli.
On December 15, 2017, a music video for "Perfect Symphony" was also released.