"Tenerife Sea" is a song by English singer and songwriter Ed Sheeran. The song was written by Sheeran, Johnny McDaid of Snow Patrol, and Foy Vance. It was produced by Rick Rubin. The song was released on June 20, 2014, as part of Sheeran's second studio album, x. It reached number 93 on the UK Singles Chart when it first came out and later reached number 62.

Background and composition

Ed Sheeran wrote the song "Tenerife Sea" while in Nashville, the capital of Tennessee, United States. The song was inspired by events after the 2013 Grammy Awards, when his song "The A Team" was nominated for Song of the Year, marking his first Grammy nomination. He did not win the award; the American band Fun. won instead for their song "We Are Young." At the after-party following the awards, Sheeran and his girlfriend attended but felt reluctant to join conversations. Sheeran explained that neither of them wanted to be there, as they only wished to be together. He also told The San Francisco Examiner that the atmosphere felt strange, with people focused on themselves. He admitted feeling competitive and upset about not winning, which he described as unhealthy.

"Tenerife Sea" is a love song featuring layered vocals by Sheeran. Randall Roberts of the Los Angeles Times compared the song to Eric Clapton's 1977 ballad "Wonderful Tonight" and Ginuwine's song "In Those Jeans."

The song's title refers to Tenerife, an island in the Canary Islands of Spain. Sheeran said his girlfriend's eyes were as blue as the waters of Tenerife, describing them as "seriously blue, like electric blue." The lyrics mention his girlfriend at the time, named "Beth," whom he described as "really pretty" in her dress. The song is not connected to singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, despite some rumors.

Debut and response

The song "Tenerife Sea" was released on June 20, 2014, as the eighth track on Ed Sheeran's second studio album, x. Before the album was released, Sheeran performed the song live in the United States and in his home country. In October 2013, he sang "Tenerife Sea" at a concert in Madison Square Garden. He also performed the song at a small show in New York City at the Mercury Lounge, where he played two other new songs, though recording was not allowed. On March 24, 2014, Sheeran first performed the song at London's Royal Albert Hall during a Teenage Cancer Trust benefit concert. At the time, few British media outlets noticed the song, which was believed to show the musical style Sheeran would use for his then-unreleased second album.

The song became popular on streaming services, especially on playlists with specific themes. In April 2015, Spotify, a music streaming company, released a report about the most-streamed songs worldwide in the "sleep" category. "Tenerife Sea" ranked 14th, joining six other songs by Sheeran in the top 20. Sleep is one of Spotify's most popular categories, often used for relaxation. A writer for The Guardian, Tim Dowling, noted that the report highlights "very popular, slightly mellow songs" that appear often on sleep playlists, but it is not a list of songs designed to help people fall asleep. In June 2015, Spotify also released a list of the most popular first dance songs based on analysis of 400,000 wedding playlists worldwide. "Tenerife Sea" was the fifth most popular song on this list.

On June 29, 2024, Sheeran held his first concert ever in Tenerife as part of his " +-=/ * Mathematics" tour and included "Tenerife Sea" in his setlist. During his visit to Tenerife, Sheeran recorded a performance of the song while sitting in a fishing boat near San Andrés, close to Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the island's capital. The video of this performance was shared on his official YouTube channel on July 11, 2024.

Critical and commercial reception

"Tenerife Sea" was discussed by critics and journalists. In an article written for Valentine's Day, Marika Azzopardi of The Malta Independent gathered "some great moments of love in the arts," including "Tenerife Sea" along with other songs. Azzopardi wrote that Sheeran "goes all soft and summery" with the song. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called "Tenerife Sea" an "unreserved love song." Allison Stewart of The Washington Post mentioned Sheeran's layered vocals, writing: "'Tenerife Sea' is rich and beautiful, its vocals stacked to the heavens." 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.

Jon Dolan of the Rolling Stone called "Tenerife Sea" an "oversweet ballad." Jason Lipshutz of Billboard had the same thought, calling it a "sticky-sweet" wedding song. Writing for The Irish Times, Lauren Murphy noted that the album's few songs, including "Tenerife Sea," are "simply dull." Kitty Empire of The Guardian thinks that the song "dwells at simpering length on how wonderful a girl looks in her dress."

Because of high streaming rates, all of the album's 12 tracks, including "Tenerife Sea," entered the UK Singles Chart. The song debuted at number 93, reached a peak of number 62, and spent 7 weeks on the chart. 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 due to the acoustic version performed by James McVey, guitarist of the British pop group The Vamps, whose video was uploaded to YouTube.