Apparently there’s something about non-threatening British boys with red hair that really puts Spotify users to sleep. That’s according to a report from Billboard, at least, which says that Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” is the most-streamed song from the service’s “Sleep” category. He even ranked above “Rain For Sleep” by Rain Sounds, which was probably made specifically to put people to sleep. That’s quite an achievement.
The other top auditory sedatives include Sam Smith (his “Stay With Me” came in second), Coldplay (for “Fix You”), and Ellie Goulding (for “Love Me Like You Do” from the Fifty Shades Of Grey soundtrack). Sheeran is still the king of snoozing, though, as he managed to claim seven of the spots on Spotify’s list of the top 20 most-popular “Sleep” songs. To be fair, Spotify’s Angela Watts says that people use the “Sleep” category for “general relaxation and to help themselves unwind,” so it’s not exclusively used by people who want to hear a small ginger carry them to dreamland.
Here’s Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud,” if you think you can handle it without falling asleep at your computer/on your phone/wherever you read The A.V. Club: