An array of football anthems found themselves in the Top 100 this week due to the EURO 2020 games, further escalated by the final on Sunday. But amid the anthems, Ed Sheeran’s 2021 single ‘Bad Habits’ has extended its top billing.

This week marks the second week at number one for the ‘Shape of You’ singer, ‘Bad Habits’ was teased on popular app TikTok in late June of this year where the singer debuted the single’s horror-esque look. Within the video, the artist also gave fans a glimpse into the aesthetic of the new single’s video. The single, released on 25th June 2021 through Asylum Records is the lead single off the 30-year-old singer’s upcoming fifth album. The track also marks the artist’s first solo release from a studio album in four years.

The artist took to his Instagram page to post an acoustic version of the hit single.

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The single has racked up an impressive sales count and has outsold its opening week, selling 103,000 chart sales including 10.9 million streams. The release outsold the six football anthems which entered the chart this week. Out of the newly introduced anthems, it is no surprise that ‘3 Lions’ by David Baddiel, The Lightning Seeds and Frank Skinner is the forerunner, climbing 18 spots to reach number 4.  Another popular football song that entered the charts this week, ‘Vindaloo’ by Fat Les came in at number 36, its highest position since 2010. The track was originally released in 1998 and was co-written by Alex James, bassist for Blur. Much like any other anthem, the track had a purpose, it was written and recorded for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The charts appeared to follow a theme this week as the pub classic ‘Sweet Caroline’ re-entered the charts at number 48, originally released in 1971 by Neil Diamond, the song has been adopted in recent years as an English classic.

Sheeran’s newest single also outsold Olivia Rodrigo’s hugely popular release ‘Good 4 U’ this week, which remains at number 2. Stealing the bronze this week is ‘Heartbreak Anthem’ by Swedish DJ Galantis, David Guetta and Little Mix. The collaboration is Little Mix’s first release since the single ‘Confetti’ on 30th April 2021, the newly made trio took part in this year’s record store day with a release of 2021 album ‘Confetti’ on Vinyl with a new decorated cover. Just below ‘3 Lions’ at number five is ‘I Wanna Be Your Slave’ by Maneskin, the Italian band famously won this year’s Eurovision Song Contest with the song ‘Zitti e Buoni’.

Unlike the 1990s a specific football anthem has not been written for this year’s games, although we have seen plenty of old-school favourites get their second chance in the charts. Perhaps ‘Bad Habits’ by Ed Sheeran is the unofficial anthem for the EURO game. However, this weekend’s game may provide a different answer, depending on the result we may see an anthem at number one next week.

Garrix started working on the track before the COVID-19 pandemic. Once he finished the instrumental, he realised that the song recalled U2’s sounds, so he started dreaming about a potential collaboration. Six hours after having sent the email to the Irish rockers, he received a call from Bono himself: ‘I remember I had to mute myself on the phone during the conversation just to scream and then unmute and play it cool. It was incredible.’ Garrix told to Rolling Stone.

The recordings took place in Monaco, and it was an experience the DJ will never forget. ‘I had goosebumps in the studio the entire time. Because it’s Bono standing next to me singing the song.’ The DJ shared. Three years later, the song is finally out: ‘Creating the music for one of the biggest sports events in the world together with Bono and The Edge has been an incredible experience,’ Garrix stated. ‘I’m very proud of what we did together and excited to finally share it with the world!’

UEFA marketing director Guy-Laurent Epstein said in a statement: ‘The long wait is almost over, and we are delighted to officially unveil the official song for UEFA Euro 2020, ‘We Are the People’, which features some of the world’s most celebrated artists in Martin Garrix, Bono, and The Edge. Football and music have the power of bringing people together. They are vectors of passion and emotion and combining them will extend further the fan celebration of the tournament, as well as reaching out to new audiences. With the star-studded line-up we have pulled together to create the tournament’s official music, we are confident of doing just this.’

You can listen to the track below. The video features the three artists and includes some footage shot in London.

A music insider said: ‘Martin adores football so this opportunity was ­massive for him, which is why he aimed for the very top when looking for collaborators. He has spent months and months working on this song to make it perfect and once Bono and The Edge were on board, it hit new heights. They have spoken quite a few times and are in London at the moment working on the video. They can’t wait to get it out there for everyone to listen to really soon.’

Garrix was commissioned to create the song for this event in October 2019. When that happened, he stated: ‘It’s an ­incredible honour to be asked to create the official song for UEFA Euro 2020 and I am so excited to let ­everyone hear it. Next summer’s tournament will take the fans closer to the action than ever before, and I hope my song will make everyone in Europe feel like they are part of it. Music is my passion, but I’m also a huge football fan, so it’s extra special for me to be able to create the official song for what will be the biggest Euro in ­history.’

The young DJ conquered the UK music scene hitting number 1 in 2013 with the song ‘Animals’. From there on, he has collaborated with many international popstars, including Dua Lipa and Usher. On the other hand, U2 have sold more than 150 million copies worldwide, with seven number 1 singles and ten albums landing on the worldwide music charts.

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