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| Ed Sheeran Releases New Album Play With Global Influences |
Ed Sheeran Releases New Album Play With Global Influences
LONDON, Sept 12, 2025 — British pop superstar Ed Sheeran has unveiled his eighth studio album, Play, marking the start of a new five-part project that takes his music in a fresh direction. Released today through Gingerbread Man Records and Atlantic Records, the 13-track album blends Sheeran’s signature ballads with influences from South Asian and Middle Eastern sounds.
The release follows Sheeran’s acclaimed but somber Subtract (2023), which chronicled personal struggles including the loss of his close friend Jamal Edwards and his wife Cherry Seaborn’s cancer diagnosis. With Play, the 34-year-old singer says he wanted to move toward “joy and colour” after what he described as “the darkest period” of his life.
A New Musical Chapter
Play launches a five-album cycle that will include future records titled Pause, Fast Forward, Rewind and Stop. It arrives after Sheeran closed his decade-long “mathematical” era with albums such as Divide and Equals.
The album’s opening track, aptly titled “Opening,” sets the tone with lyrics reflecting both vulnerability and determination. Sheeran acknowledges the challenges of maintaining relevance in today’s music industry while reaffirming his resilience.
Global Sounds and Collaborations
Sheeran spent time in India earlier this year, where he recorded parts of the album in Goa and collaborated with local musicians. That influence is most evident on “Sapphire,” a duet with Indian superstar Arijit Singh, performed in English, Hindi, and Punjabi. The song has already topped India’s streaming charts — the first track by a Western artist to do so since 2021.
The record also features the single “Azizam,” inspired by Persian music, and songs like “Symmetry” and “Don’t Look Down,” which incorporate sitar, tabla, santoor, and bansuri flute into Sheeran’s pop framework.
Balancing Familiarity and Experimentation
While Sheeran experiments with global instrumentation, many tracks stay true to his trademark style — heartfelt love ballads destined for wedding playlists. Songs like “In Other Words” and “The Vow” lean into themes of romance and domestic intimacy, while “A Little More” showcases a sharper, more biting side of the singer.
Industry analysts note that Play could be a turning point after Sheeran’s last two albums underperformed commercially compared to his earlier hits like Divide, which sold more than eight million copies in the UK alone.
Highlights from Play
Sapphire: A cross-cultural duet with Arijit Singh, blending Indian and Western sounds.
Azizam: Lead single rooted in Persian influences.
Camera: A cinematic love ballad reminiscent of Sheeran’s earlier classics.
A Little More: An upbeat yet lyrically cutting track showing Sheeran’s edgier side.
With Play, Ed Sheeran signals a new era, balancing global experimentation with the ballad-driven pop that made him one of the best-selling artists of the last decade. The album is now available on all major streaming platforms.