A good comeback for Ed Sheeran?

As you are probably aware, Ed Sheeran took a year off from music and made his spectacular return at the start of this year with the release of two new songs from his third album Divide, Shape of You and Castle on the Hill. There was a high level of anticipation circulating around Ed's return, and it's safe to say he didn't disappoint. Shape of You managed to debut at number one on the official charts, with Castle on the Hill right behind at number two. The two songs dominated the charts for weeks, and it was apparent that Ed really was back with a bang. However, are the songs actually any good, or is it Ed Sheeran's name that gets him to number one? Honestly, I think it's a bit of both. When I heard Ed would be releasing two new songs for his comeback, I was both excited and a little wary of what the new music would sound like. While I do love Ed's old music, I do believe that it could get quite tiresome if it was constantly repeated. When the day came though that new songs were released, I was pleasantly surprised! Shape of You was such a perfect comeback song because not only did it have the classic Sheeran vibe that we all know and love, it appeared to have been revamped somehow so that he was bringing something new to the table. The upbeat song mixed with the catchy lyrics made it the perfect radio hit, that was also perfectly paired with the powerful Castle on the Hill. 
I wasn't at all surprised that Ed's new music was dominating the charts as that is what tends to happen when a huge artist makes a comeback, however the amount of time that these songs spent at the top of the charts demonstrated that the public were genuinely enjoying the music, even after the hype was over. Acts such as One Direction are known for releasing songs that are initially successful and debut at the top of the charts due to a large fanbase, but will only stay there for a very short amount of time as the music only appeals to their fans and no one else.  Whereas artists such as Ed Sheeran stay at the top for longer because they have more widespread fans and music that will appeal to people of all ages and backgrounds. 
Last week Ed's third album Divide was finally released, and after the success of Shape of You and Castle on the Hill there was a lot of pressure on Ed to keep the success going, and make his comeback one to remember - and of course it went straight to the top of the charts (at this point I wouldn't expect anything less!) 
We are only three months into 2017 and Ed has already broken pretty much every record there is, which overall makes this an incredible comeback! 
Congratulations Ed!