"2step" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran from his fifth studio album = (2021), appearing as the ninth track on its track listing. It was written by Sheeran, David Hodges, Louis Bell and Andrew Wotman, and produced by the latter two. A remix featuring American rapper Lil Baby was released on 22 April 2022, making it the fifth and final single from the album. It was sent to hot adult contemporary radio in the United States three days later.[2] On 2 May 2022, Sheeran released a version of the song featuring Ukrainian pop-rock band Antytila,[3] and later released an additional 12 "global remixes" of the song, with artists from Finland, India, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Australia, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Brazil.[4]
Background
Sheeran said that he wrote this song from the "lowest point of confidence" telling Dev: "Every song I did, I would send in and just get a lukewarm reaction. I went into the studio and just wrote about being really low on confidence and I think that's probably one of my favorite songs on the album.”[5]
Promotion and release
On 19 August 2021, Sheeran announced his fifth studio album, = in which the song is listed number ninth on the tracklist.[6] On 29 October 2021, "2step" was released alongside other album tracks that appeared on the album =.
Lyric video
A lyric video for the song was uploaded on Sheeran's YouTube account on 29 October 2021 along with the other lyric videos of the songs that appeared on the tracklisting of =.[7]
Music video
The music video for the single version of the song, filmed in Kyiv, Ukraine and directed by Henry Scholfield, was uploaded to YouTube on 22 April 2022. The video was filmed prior to the February 2022 invasion, and all revenue from YouTube streams are earmarked for Ukraine.
^Lipshutz, Jason (22 April 2022). "The Kid Laroi, Megan Thee Stallion, Pusha T: Must-Hear Releases of the Week". Billboard. Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
^ a b"Hot/Modern/AC Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
^"Ed Sheeran teams up with Ukrainian band Antytila for reworked '2Step'". NME. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
^edhq (30 April 2022). "Ed's leaving some hints for who the next 2step remix is gonna be. Any guesses?". Instagram. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
^"Ed Sheeran explains meaning behind every song on his new album =". heart.co.uk. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
^Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (19 August 2021). "Ed Sheeran announces new album, =". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
^"Ed Sheeran - 2step [Official Lyric Video]". YouTube. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
^"Ed Sheeran feat. Lil Baby – 2step". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^"Ed Sheeran feat. Lil Baby – 2step" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
^"Ed Sheeran feat. Lil Baby – 2step" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
^"Ed Sheeran feat. Lil Baby – 2step" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
^"Ed Sheeran Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
^"Ed Sheeran Chart History (Canada AC)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
^"Ed Sheeran Chart History (Canada CHR/Top 40)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
^"Ed Sheeran Chart History (Canada Hot AC)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 202240 into search. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 202144 into search. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
^"Ed Sheeran – 2step". Tracklisten. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
^"Ed Sheeran: 2step (feat. Ellinoora)" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
^"Ed Sheeran feat. Ultimo – 2step". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
^"Billboard Japan Hot Overseas – Week of May 4, 2022". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). 4 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
^"Ed Sheeran feat. Lil Baby – 2step" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
^"NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
^"Ed Sheeran – 2step". VG-lista. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
^"Ed Sheeran feat. Lil Baby – 2step". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
^"Media Forest – Weekly Charts. Media Forest. Retrieved 12 July 2022. Note: Romanian and international positions are rendered together by the number of plays before resulting an overall chart.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 202231 into search. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
^"ČNS IFPI". IFPI ČR. Note: Select SK SINGLES DIGITAL TOP 100 and insert 202144 into search. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
^"Digital Chart – Week 18 of 2022". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved 5 May 2022.
^"Ed Sheeran feat. 1.Cuz – 2step". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
^"Ed Sheeran feat. Lil Baby – 2step". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
^"Italian single certifications – Ed Sheeran – 2step" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 1 March 2023. Select "2023" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "2step" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
^"Veckolista Singlar, vecka 31, 2022 | Sverigetopplistan" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 10 October 2022. Scroll to position 42 to view certification.
^"2step (feat. Lil Baby) – Single by Ed Sheeran on Apple Music". Apple Music. 22 April 2022. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
^"Top40/M Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
^"2step (feat. Antytila) – Single by Ed Sheeran on Apple Music". Apple Music. 2 May 2022. Archived from the original on 7 August 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
^"2step (feat. Ellinoora) – Single by Ed Sheeran on Apple Music". Apple Music. 4 May 2022. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
^"2step (feat. Ultimo) – Single by Ed Sheeran on Apple Music". Apple Music. 6 May 2022. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
^"2step (feat. 1.Cuz) – Single by Ed Sheeran on Apple Music". Apple Music. 9 May 2022. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
^"2step (feat. Budjerah) – Single by Ed Sheeran on Apple Music". Apple Music. 11 May 2022. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
^"2step (Star.One Remix) - Single by Ed Sheeran, Star.One". Spotify. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
^"2step (feat. Leto) - Single by Ed Sheeran, Leto". Spotify. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
^"2step (feat. Chefin) – Single by Ed Sheeran on Apple Music". Apple Music. 16 May 2022. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
^"2step (feat. reezy) – Single by Ed Sheeran on Apple Music". Apple Music. 18 May 2022. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
^"2step (feat. Potter Payper) – Single by Ed Sheeran on Apple Music". Apple Music. 20 May 2022. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
^"2step (feat. Quevedo) – Single by Ed Sheeran on Apple Music". Apple Music. 23 May 2022. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
^"2step (feat. Denise Chaila) – Single by Ed Sheeran on Apple Music". Apple Music. 25 May 2022. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
^"2step (feat. Armaan Malik) – Single by Ed Sheeran on Apple Music". Apple Music. 3 June 2022. Archived from the original on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.