Sheeran's 'Shape of You' most streamed ever on Spotify

NEW YORK: Ed Sheeran´s dance pop track Shape of You has become the most played song ever on Spotify, ending the 11-month reign of Drake´s One Dance.

The English songwriter´s easygoing song about looking for love at a bar has been heard 1.318 billion times on the world´s most popular streaming service as of Friday, a notch above One Dance.

Shape of You came out in January as one of the first songs on Sheeran´s chart-topping album Divide.

The album was the first by the ginger-haired guitarist since he was propelled to stardom by the ballad Thinking Out Loud, which remains Spotify´s sixth most streamed track ever.

Shape of You and One Dance share subtle similarities -- both incorporate the rhythms of dancehall, the Jamaican club music of the 1970s that has seen a revival through pop producers.

Sheeran brings in drum machine off-beats of dancehall underneath a minimalist, minor-key synthesised melody.

The dancehall influence is more obvious in One Dance as Drake, who came to prominence as a rapper, sings in a Jamaican patois and also incorporates Afrobeat, with an appearance by Nigerian pop singer WizKid.

One Dance rose to the top of Spotify´s all-time list in October 2016 -- despite Drake´s close association with rival streaming service Apple Music.

Two months later, One Dance became the first song to hit one billion streams on Spotify, a feat since matched by three other tracks.