"Celestial" is a song by

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

, released as a single on 29 September 2022. It was released in collaboration with

The Pokémon Company The Pokémon Company (株式会社ポケモン, ''Kabushiki gaisha Pokemon'') is a Japanese company responsible for brand management, production, publishing, marketing, and licensing of the ''Pokémon'' franchise, which consists of video gam ...

and appears in the end credits of ''Pokémon Scarlet'' and ''Violet'', released on 18 November 2022. Sheeran co-wrote the song alongside

Steve Mac Steve McCutcheon (born 15 January 1972), known professionally as Steve Mac, is a British record producer, songwriter and musician. A multi-award-winning producer, he is one of the most prolific songwriters and record producers in modern Briti ...

and

Johnny McDaid John McDaid (born 24 July 1976) is a singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer from Northern Ireland. He is a member of the band Snow Patrol and has written songs with other artists including Ed Sheeran, P!nk, and Robbie Williams. Earl ...

, and produced it with Mac. The song was released alongside its music video, which includes Sheeran interacting with a variety of Pokémon.

Background

Ed Sheeran is a self-proclaimed Pokémon fan, and had collaborated with

the Pokémon Company The Pokémon Company (株式会社ポケモン, ''Kabushiki gaisha Pokemon'') is a Japanese company responsible for brand management, production, publishing, marketing, and licensing of the ''Pokémon'' franchise, which consists of video gam ...

before. From 22 to 30 November 2021, ''

Pokémon Go ''Pokémon Go'' (stylized as ''Pokémon GO'') is a 2016 augmented reality (AR) mobile game, part of the ''Pokémon'' franchise, developed and published by Niantic in collaboration with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company for iOS and Android ...

'' featured an in-game performance by Sheeran. In August 2022, Sheeran welcomed participants of the 2022 Pokémon World Championships in a video message. On 22 September 2022, Sheeran wrote on his Instagram: "I met the people from Pokémon when I was travelling in Japan, and we joked about me writing a song for them", which led to the collaboration. In a separate statement, Sheeran wrote that he liked Pokémon since

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

, and called it "such an honour to add a song into a Pokémon game and shoot a nostalgic video too".

Composition

"Celestial" is a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

song in the key of

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable com ...

, with a tempo of 123 BPM. It is based around a

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

of G–Bm–D–A (I–iii–V–II). This progression can also be seen in the song's video, written in a notebook Sheeran keeps.

Music video

The music video was also released on 29 September 2022, and was directed by

Yuichi Kodama Yuichi Kodama (児玉裕一 ''Kodama Yuichi''） is a Japanese video director. He has mainly directed music videos and ads. He often produces music videos and ads that are strongly connected or "tied-up" to each other, such as Perfume's "Secret Secr ...

. It depicts Sheeran interacting with a variety of sketch-style Pokémon, including "a

Snorlax Snorlax (), known in Japan as , is a Pokémon species, a type of ''Pocket Monster'', in Nintendo and Game Freak's ''Pokémon'' franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Snorlax first appeared in the Game Boy video game ''Pokémon Red'' and ''Blue' ...

that saves Sheeran from a car accident to a

Lapras is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's ''Pokémon'' franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Lapras first appeared in the video games ''Pokémon Red'' and ''Blue'' and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spino ...

that takes him across a river". The appearances of the Pokémon were drawn by art director Yu Nagaba. According to an ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' article, Nagaba emulated the way Sheeran drew Pokémon when he was younger.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Pokémon 2022 singles 2022 songs Asylum Records singles Atlantic Records UK singles Ed Sheeran songs Pokémon Song recordings produced by Ed Sheeran Song recordings produced by Steve Mac Songs written by Ed Sheeran Songs written by Johnny McDaid Songs written by Steve Mac