Ed Sheeran Teases New Album & Tour After Two-Year Hiatus — Everything We Know About ‘Subtract’
Get ready, you guys — Ed Sheeran is about to be back and better than ever! That’s right, after a
Lillie Gissen
Get ready, you guys — Ed Sheeran is about to be back and better than ever! That’s right, after a two-year hiatus, the singer has finally teased his new album (which will be called Subtract!) and tour, and we couldn’t be more excited about it!
But wait, when will Subtract come out? What will the songs sound like? Can we expect any collaborations on the LP? And will his new music be about his wife, Cherry Seaborn, or his daughter, Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran? Not to worry, you guys, because we broke it all down for you. Here’s everything you need to know about Sheeran’s upcoming fourth album…
What Do We Know So Far About ‘Subtract?’
The “Thinking Out Loud” crooner announced on May 5, 2021, that he had become the new sponsor of Ipswich Town Football Club — a team he’s supported since he was a little kid.
“This bloke is the new sponsor of @ipswichtown football club. Do well,” he gushed on Instagram, alongside a pic of him when he was little supporting the English soccer team.
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And in becoming the sponsor, he got to design the shirts of the men’s and women’s first teams for one year. But fans were quick to notice that the logo on the clothes may have given them a major clue about his next tour and album. It said “+ — = ÷ X.”
Our men’s and women’s first-teams have a new shirt sponsor!
— Ipswich Town FC (@IpswichTown) May 6, 2021
#itfc
For those who missed it, Sheeran has actually been pretty vocal about the fact that his next album will be called Subtract for years now. He named his first album Plus, his second was called Multiply and his third was Divide, so that’s how we know the next one will be called Subtract! So does this new logo mean he’s gearing up to announce a world tour that features all four of his albums? And that Subtract is finally on its way? Well, when he was asked about the situation, he stayed pretty tight lipped about it.
“All will be revealed in time,” he told a fan.
Back in February, he told fans that his next batch of songs was going to come out “later this year.”
“30 today. Thank you for all your wonderful messages, I feel very loved,” he wrote on his birthday. “I’ll be back online with the fourth installment in the series later this year, until then.”
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What Will The Songs Sound Like?
According to the 30-year-old, he’s actually been working on this album for years now.
“I’ve been working on this one since the same time as Plus. Every year I write a song that will go on it,” he explained in a previous interview. “So I have about six, seven at the moment. It will potentially come later, because it’s been about six years in the making and it might be another three or four. So I might put other stuff out before then, just to have something out.”
And fans can expect the songs to sound very different from his previous hits.
“It’s not necessarily experimental but I don’t think there’ll be any hot radio songs on it this time. It’s a very acoustic record, very acoustic,” he added.
Will There Be Any Collaborations On ‘Subtract?’
Unfortunately, since there’s no official track list yet, we don’t know for sure if there will be any collaborations on the album. But Sheeran did previously reveal that he wants to work with DJ Khaled.
“Me and DJ Khaled were talking about doing a song but I haven’t had any time to go in the studio, so I missed this album. But hopefully next year. I’m keeping open,” he once said.
And he also said he wanted to work on another song with Justin Bieber! As fans know, they previously collaborated on the track “I Don’t Care,” which was a total bop, TBH.
“I’m always, always up for working with Bieber,” he explained, “He’s doing a lot of these features then he’s touring. But when he wants to start making another album, I’d love to be involved. I’ve got some ideas. I think he’s really talented. And his head’s screwed on properly now.”
What Has Ed Sheeran Been Up To Lately?
As fans know, Sheeran dropped a special collaboration album called No. 6 Collaborations Project in 2019, and after that, he announced that he was taking a break from the spotlight.
“It’s time to go out and see more of the world. I’ve been a bit non stop since 2017 so I’m just gonna take a breather to travel, write and read,” he wrote at the time.
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We didn’t hear from him for almost a year, but in September 2020, he popped back onto social media to announce that he and his wife had welcomed their first baby together!
“Ello! A quick message from me as I have some personal news that I wanted to share with you… Last week, with the help of an amazing delivery team, Cherry gave birth to our beautiful and healthy daughter — Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran. We are completely in love with her,” he gushed. “Both mum and baby are doing amazing and we are on cloud nine over here. We hope that you can respect our privacy at this time. Lots of love and I’ll see you when it’s time to come back, Ed.”
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Then, in December 2020, he surprised us all with a new song called “Afterglow!” But Sheeran insisted at the time that it wasn’t the first single off his next album, but instead, he called it a Christmas present to his fans.
“Hey guys. ‘Afterglow’ is a song I wrote last year that I wanted to release for you. It’s not the first single from the next album, it’s just a song I love, and hope you love too,” he explained. “Enjoy! Have a safe and happy festive break and New Year’s. Back to dad land for me now, ciao.”
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Well, we cannot wait to see what’s next for him. We hope he announces something soon!