Ed Sheeran’s name is all over the Billboard Global 200 this week, just not in the way you’d expect. While he hasn’t cracked the top 10 as an artist since June 2025, he’s got cowriter credits on two of the biggest songs on the chart dated August 8. Shakira and Burna Boy’s “Dai Dai” is holding strong at No. 1 for the fourth straight week, and Sheeran is one of the five writers behind it. KATSEYE’s new single “Animal” also debuts at No. 10 with Sheeran as a cowriter.

This isn’t a one-off move either. His first Global 200 No. 1 came as a writer on BTS’s “Permission to Dance” back in 2021. Meanwhile, his own hits “Perfect” and “Shape of You” continue to hang around the chart. “Perfect” has appeared on every single Global 200 chart since its launch in 2020, which is a level of staying power most artists can only dream of.

The bigger picture here is how much the songwriting side of music shapes what we hear every day. The voice on the track gets the fame, but the writers are building the soundscape of our summers. So next time “Dai Dai” comes on your playlist, there’s a decent chance Ed Sheeran’s fingerprints are all over it. What do you think, does knowing who wrote a song change how you hear it?