Picture this: Ed Sheeran ... be one thing if “Shape Of You” was a fleeting little novelty, but it’s not that. It’s globally inescapable. It’s part of the societal wallpaper.

It was just another day in the recording studio. That was the key to writing Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You,” which has been on the Hot 100 since it was released on Jan. 6, and topped Billboard ...