“Play” sees Sheeran enter a brand new era, after closing the chapter on his hugely successful “Mathematics” series.
Ed Sheeran is here to play.
The superstar British singer and songwriter today drops Play, his eighth studio album, which gathers the previously released singles “Camera”, “A Little More”, “Azizam”, “Sapphire,” “Old Phone” and more.
Inspired, in part, by his exposure to Indian and Persian musical cultures, Play sees Sheeran enter a brand new era, after closing the chapter on his hugely successfulMathematics series.
“Play was an album that was made as a direct response to the darkest period of my life. Coming out of all of that I just wanted to create joy and technicolour, and explore cultures in the countries I was touring,” he wrote in an Instagram post earlier in the year. “It’s a real rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish, it encapsulates everything that I love about music, and the fun in it, but also where I am in life as a human, a partner, a father.”
To celebrate the new release, Sheeran shares the official video for “Camera”, starring Phoebe Dynevor.
With Play, Sheeran will hope to extend his perfect streak in his homeland and Australia, where all of his studio albums have topped the national charts, including his most recent effort, 2023’s Autumn Variations.
In the U.S., Sheeran has two career leaders on the Billboard Hot 100, including “Shape Of You,” one of the most-streamed songs in history, and four No. 1s on the Billboard 200 chart.
He’ll give the new album a push from midday today, Sept. 12, when he heads to NPR’s offices, where he’ll play a selection of new music on his loop station for the first-ever livestreamed Tiny Desk concert of this scale.
The four-time Grammy Award winner closed the book on Mathematics last Sunday, Sept. 7 in Düsseldorf, Germany, with the final show on his +−=÷× Tour (Mathematics Tour), a global juggernaut that began in April 2022 and featured more than 160 shows. He’s booked to played iHeartMusicFestival in Las Vegas next Saturday, Sept. 20, then presses play on The Loop Tour this December for shows across Continental Europe and the U.K., followed by a run of stadium shows across Australia and New Zealand in the first quarter of 2026.
Stream Play below.
