"Beautiful People" is a song by English singer-songwriter

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 ...

featuring American singer

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal". It also appears as a surname.

. It was released on 28 June 2019 through

Asylum Records Asylum Records is an American record label, founded in 1971 by David Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts. It was taken over by Warner Communications (now the Warner Music Group) in 1972, and later merged with Elektra Records to become Elektra/As ...

as the third single from the former's fourth studio album, ''

No.6 Collaborations Project ''No.6 Collaborations Project'' is the fourth studio album by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was released on 12 July 2019 by Asylum and Atlantic Records. The album includes guest appearances from Khalid, Camila Cabello, Cardi B, Chance ...

'' (2019). It reached number one on the UK Singles Chart in July 2019, becoming the second single from the album to reach the summit of the chart. Sheeran released an acoustic solo version of the song on 15 July without Khalid. The song has reached 1 billion streams on Spotify and 315 million views on YouTube.

Background and promotion

"Beautiful People" was announced as part of the tracklist for ''

'' (2019).

revealed the song's artwork and release date on 23 June 2019. Footage of it being recorded in a studio was released in the following days leading up to its release.

Composition

"Beautiful People" is composed in time and the key of

E-flat major E-flat major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has three flats. Its relative minor is C minor, and its parallel minor is E minor, (or enharmonically D minor). The E-fla ...

, with a moderate R&B

groove Groove or Grooves may refer to: Music * Groove (music) * Groove (drumming) * The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s * The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station * Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station ...

and a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 96 beats per minute. It has a

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

of Cm–E–A–Gm₇. Sheeran and Khalid's

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of stud ...

spans two

octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...

s from B₃ to B₅.

Critical reception

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

''s Nick Levine wrote that Sheeran's "skills as a pop craftsman are on full display" and the song "gives his usual everybro persona a welcome edge." Chris Willman of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said Sheeran and Khalid make "a good match". Bernadette Giacomazzo of ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of Hip hop music, hip hop music criticism and news. ''HipHopDX'' has over 3.5M monthly readers, the website encompassing hip hop news, interviews, music, and reviews. The website's founder and CEO is Sharath C ...

'' viewed it as "one of the few tracks that actually works on the album", writing, "though they recycle old tropes, they stick to what they know best, which is just fine." Malvika Padin of '' Clash'' found the track "strong and likeable, but nothing surprising." ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

''s Rawiya Kameir was less impressed, calling it "heavy-handed" and "a catchy calculation appropriate for the sad-pop dominating the charts." ''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'' reviewer Phoebe Luckhurst described the track as " Chainsmokers-esque". Lucy Shanker of '' Consequence'' regarded the song as "disingenuous".

Music video

The music video for "Beautiful People" was teased a day before its 28 June release. The video included cameos of Ed Sheeran and Khalid. It was directed by Andy McLeod, and filmed in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and at the

Lleida–Alguaire Airport Lleida–Alguaire Airport (Catalan: ''Aeroport de Lleida-Alguaire'', Spanish: ''Aeropuerto de Lérida-Alguaire'') is an airport located in Alguaire, Catalonia, Spain; about from the centre of Lleida and about from the centre of Barcelona. Hi ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, Spain. The video opens with a couple having a vacation waiting in line with their luggage at a small airport. After being approached by a pair of airport personnel, they are directed to a long white limousine waiting outside. The couple hesitantly enters the limousine, where they eat snacks they packed and notice other fancy cars driving past them, apparently heading to the same destination. As the video continues, the couple find themselves at a series of fancy, expensive places filled with beautiful people: a pool party beside a mansion, a yacht filled with models, a fashion show, and a house party. Surrounded by wealth, indulgence, and beauty, the couple reacts to everything with cautious interest, but spend most of their time focused on each other, following the song's theme of being true to oneself. At the end of the video, the couple flies home on a private plane, and upon landing at the airport, they are offered a ride in a nice car. The couple decline, take hands, and head for the airport bus instead.

Track listing

*Digital download and streaming #"Beautiful People" (featuring

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal". It also appears as a surname.

) – 3:17 *Digital download and streaming –

Danny L Harle Daniel Jack Eisner Harle (born 25 September 1989) is a British music producer and composer who records under the name Danny L Harle. He was formerly signed to the London-based PC Music label and is a member of Dux Content with A. G. Cook. He h ...

Harlecore Remix #"Beautiful People" (featuring Khalid) anny L Harle Harlecore Remixnbsp;– 3:45 *Digital download and streaming –

NOTD NOTD (pronounced "noted") is a Swedish musical production duo composed of Tobias Danielsson and Samuel Brandt. They are best known for their songs "I Wanna Know (NOTD song), I Wanna Know" featuring Bea Miller and "So Close (NOTD song), So Close" ...

Remix #"Beautiful People" (featuring Khalid) OTD Remixnbsp;– 2:42 *Digital download and streaming – Acoustic #"Beautiful People" (Acoustic) – 3:06 *Digital download and streaming – Jack Wins Remix #"Beautiful People" (featuring Khalid) ack Wins Remixnbsp;– 2:43

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

of ''No.6 Collaborations Project'' Locations *Recorded at MXM Studios (

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden),

Mandarin Oriental Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group International Limited is a multinational hospitality and management group focusing on luxury hotels, resorts, and residences, with a total of 43 properties worldwide, 20 of which it either wholly or partially owns ...

(Hong Kong) and Promised Land Music Studios (London) *Mixed at MixStar Studios (

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

) *Mastered at Metropolis Mastering (London) Personnel *

– vocals, songwriter, producer *

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal". It also appears as a surname.

– additional vocals, songwriter *

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
AllMusic known professional ...

– songwriter, producer * Shellback – songwriter, producer, guitar, programming *

Fred Fred or FRED may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Fred ...

– background vocals, songwriter, producer, programming, bass, drums, guitar, keys, engineer *Alex Gibson – additional production *

Serban Ghenea Serban Ghenea () is a Canadian audio engineer and mixer. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award a total of 45 times and has won 21 times. Early life and education Ghenea was born in Romania, and in 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. H ...

– mixing *Denis Kosiak – recording Khalid's vocals *Joe Rubel – engineer *John Hanes – engineer *Michael Ilbert – engineer *Stuart Hawkes – masterering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2019 singles 2019 songs Ed Sheeran songs Asylum Records singles Khalid (singer) songs Song recordings produced by Ed Sheeran Song recordings produced by Fred Again Song recordings produced by Max Martin Song recordings produced by Shellback (record producer) Songs written by Ed Sheeran Songs written by Fred Again Songs written by Khalid (singer) Songs written by Max Martin Songs written by Shellback (record producer) UK singles chart number-one singles Male vocal duets Warner Music Group singles