Ed Sheeran Wrote — But Doesn’t Sing — 2 of This Week’s Top 10 Songs in the World

As a performer, Ed Sheeran hasn’t reached the top 10 on Billboard’s global charts in over a year and hasn’t topped the list since 2021. But as a songwriter, he bookends the top 10 of this week’s Billboard Global 200 (dated Aug. 8) with cowriter credits.

For the fourth consecutive week, Shakira and Burna Boy’s “Dai Dai (FIFA World Cup Official Song 2026)” leads the Global 200, which counts Sheeran as one of five writers, alongside Shakira, Jon Bellion, Ahmed Saghir and Alexander “A.C.” Castillo Vasquez.

Plus, KATSEYE debuts at No. 10 with “Animal,” cowritten by Omar Fedi, Johnny McDaid, Blake Slatkin, and Sheeran.

“Dai Dai” holds atop the Global 200 despite its first week-to-week dip in worldwide consumption since its May release, down 2% in streams to 56.8 million in the week ending July 30, according to Luminate — the first chart tracking week after the conclusion of the World Cup. “Animal” starts with 29.8 million global streams in its first week of release and marks KATSEYE’s first top 10 on the chart, surpassing last year’s “Gabriella,” which climbed as high as No. 16.

Five years ago, Sheeran’s first Global 200 No. 1 was also as a cowriter on someone else’s song. He topped the chart by penning BTS’ “Permission to Dance,” which led the July 24, 2021-dated list. There, he was credited with Jenna Andrews, Steve Mac and, again, McDaid. And though their releases predate the Global 200’s launch, he has topped the U.S.-based Billboard Hot 100 as a writer via Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” and cracked the top 10 with Major Lazer and DJ Snake’s “Cold Water” (No. 2) and Benny Blanco, Halsey and Khalid’s “Eastside” (No. 9).

With an artist credit, Sheeran last touched the Global 200 top 10 on “Sapphire,” which debuted at No. 8 in June 2025. He got there twice in 2022, each time alongside a female collaborator: He was featured on Camila Cabello’s “Bam Bam” (No. 5) and carried his own “The Joker and the Queen,” featuring Taylor Swift, to No. 10. The year before, he replaced his cowrite on “Permission to Dance” with his own “Bad Habits” at No. 1 (July 31, 2021-dated chart) and got to No. 3 with “Shivers” that November.

The Global 200 launched in September 2020, which means that Sheeran’s 2010’s output predates the chart and likely would have added to his count of top 10 hits. Still, 2017’s “Perfect” and “Shape of You” remain on the ranking to this day, six years on from the chart’s inception and nine years after their release on Divide. At No. 148, “Perfect” logs its 308th week, appearing on every edition of the chart since its first. “Shape of You” is No. 90 for its 307th week, having fallen off only the Dec. 30, 2023-dated list during the peak of the holiday season.