Ed Sheeran will release his new single ‘Eyes Closed’ later this month.
The ‘Bad Habits’ singer has announced the first track from his upcoming album ‘Subtract’ – the final LP in his decade-long mathematical series, which follows 2021’s ‘Equals’, 2017’s ‘Divide’, 2014’s ‘Multiply’ and 2011’s ‘Plus’ – and given fans a glimpse at the lyrics.
He wrote on Instagram: “Time is moving so slow and I don’t know what else that I can do.”
He added: “I’m dancing with my eyes closed, everywhere I look I still see you.”
The song is due to be released on March 24, with the album following on May 5.
Ed previously opened up about the album by sharing a diary entry from February 2022, in which he wrote about his spouse having to delay getting treatment for a tumour because she was pregnant with the couple’s daughter, Jupiter, who they secretly welcomed into the world in May 2022.
The star – who also has Lyra Antarctica, two, with childhood sweetheart Cherry – admitted writing the record acted as therapy for him through the extremely dark period in his life, which also saw his late friend Jamal Edwards pass away suddenly and his mental health spiral.
Ed also found himself having to fight for his “integrity and career as a songwriter” at court during a lengthy copyright trial over ‘Shape of You’.
In the candid statement, he said: “I had been working on ‘Subtract’ for a decade, trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album, writing and recording hundreds of songs with a clear vision of what I thought it should be.
“Then at the start of 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art.
“Writing songs is my therapy. It helps me make sense of my feelings. I wrote without thought of what the songs would be, I just wrote whatever tumbled out. And in just over a week, I replaced a decade’s worth of work with my deepest darkest thoughts.
“Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumour, with no route to treatment until after the birth. My best friend Jamal, a brother to me, died suddenly and I found myself standing in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter. I was spiralling through fear, depression and anxiety.”