Sapphire (song)

"Sapphire" was the first track recorded for Sheeran's album Play, setting the direction for the entire album.^[4] He recorded much of it in Goa with Indian musicians and filmed the accompanying video during his tour across India, aiming to reflect the country's beauty and culture. He added that collaborating with Arijit Singh was the "final jigsaw piece" in bringing the song to life.^[8]

"Sapphire" is a rhythmic and vibrant track that blends Indian cultural elements with Sheeran's signature pop sensibilities, featuring traditional instrumentation and lyrical nods throughout. This cross-cultural approach follows his previous single "Azizam", which drew from Persian and Irish influences.^[9]

"Sapphire" was acclaimed by critics, who praised its production and cross-cultural influences. Mark Savage of BBC called it the album's best track, praising Sheeran and Singh's multilingual duet over the song's "lilting" beat.^[10] Tom Skinner of NME called the track "dazzling", "joyous" and "anthemic".^[11] Melissa Ruggieri of USA Today praised the Indian percussion for lending the song a "rich sonic backdrop".^[12] Maya Georgi of Rolling Stone felt "Sapphire" to be among the album's "most interesting moments", praising its "shiny, irresistible rhythm" and remarking that Sheeran has "[hit] a new pop wave" with his cross-cultural experimentation.^[13] Shaad D'Souza of Pitchfork found the song "heavy-handed", but noted that "Sheeran's sheer enthusiasm (...) sells [it] entirely"^[14] Louis Chilton of The Independent praised the song's "uptempo" blend of Western and Indian sounds, but felt it was "weighed down by banal love-song lyrics and Sheeran's penchant for pat simile".^[15] Thomas Smith of Billboard ranked "Sapphire" the sixth best song on Play, but considered the remix with Singh superior to the original, writing that it "offers a more pronounced role for Singh and is perhaps stronger for it".^[13]

The music video for "Sapphire" was directed by Liam Pethick and filmed across various cities in India, including Hyderabad, Kolkata, Arijit Singh's hometown in Murshidabad and Shillong. Released on 5 June 2025, it features Sheeran participating in Indian street culture—riding auto-rickshaws, wearing Ipswich Town football shirts and Rajasthan Royals jersey, playing football with children, playing cricket with Riyan Parag and Tushar Deshpande and exploring busy markets. Some of the locations featured in the music video include the street markets of Sultan Bazar, Ramoji Film City, Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad, and the Jawaharlal Nehru Football Stadium in Shillong.^[16][17] Arijit Singh appears throughout the video, including footage of him on a scooter with Sheeran. The video includes a cameo appearance by Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan, who lip-syncs part of the chorus.^[4] The music video attracted 12 million views on YouTube within its first two days.

• Digital and streaming single^[19]

1. "Sapphire" – 2:59

• Digital and streaming single^[20]

1. "Sapphire" (unplugged) – 2:56

• Digital and streaming single^[21]

1. "Sapphire" (featuring Arijit Singh) – 3:00

• 7-inch single^[22]

1. "Sapphire" – 2:59
2. "Sapphire" (featuring Arijit Singh) – 3:00

Credits adapted from Tidal.^[23]

• Ed Sheeran – songwriting, production, lead vocals, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
• Ilya Salmanzadeh – songwriting, production, vocal production, keyboards, piano, acoustic guitar, bass, drums, backing vocals, programming, engineering
• Johnny McDaid – songwriting, production, piano, electric guitar, backing vocals
• Savan Kotecha – songwriting, production, backing vocals
• Arijit Singh – songwriting, vocals, banjo, sitar, backing vocals, voice editing
• Avinash Chouhan – songwriting
• Mayur Puri – songwriting
• Max Martin – bass
• Gautam Sharma – dhol, tabla, percussion
• Jayesh Kathak – dhol, dholak, shaker, tambourine
• Tapas Ray – santoor, hammered dulcimer, lute
• Citizens of the World Choir – backing vocals
• Becky Dell – choir conductor
• Graham Archer – vocal production
• Yuvraj Sarkar – voice editing
• Ritvik Shah – vocal engineering, vocal recording engineering
• Sukanto Singha – vocal engineering, vocal recording engineering
• Nick Rose – assistant engineer
• Will Reynolds – assistant engineer
• Leon D'souza – supervisor
• Serban Ghenea – mixing
• Bryce Bordoner – assistant mixing engineer
• Stuart Hawkes – mastering