Ed Sheeran is to release a new album next month.
The ‘Shape of You’ hitmaker only put out ‘Subtract’ – the final record in his mathematics series – in May, but he’s already lining up his next studio effort for September after he wraps his ‘Mathematics’ tour.
During his set at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Saturday (12.08.23), he teased after performing three new songs: “Autumn is coming, I will see you soon.”
And a source has since told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: “Ed is going to be dropping a brand new record next month.
“It’s going to be massive for his fans, who’ve never had him drop two albums in a year before.
“It’s a massive change for him, as for years he has followed the traditional path of releasing a major album then going on tour.
“Now he’s going to drop the album to give fans something to look forward to after he wraps up the Mathematics tour next month.
“He has started testing out the material on fans at recent concerts and the reaction has been incredible.
“Everyone has been hugely respectful by not filming or recording the songs so they can be a surprise to those who weren’t at the concerts.”
The ‘Bad Habits’ hitmaker, 32, recently admitted he has been “questioning” a lot of things as he prepares to switch things up and admitted he wants to try country music at some point.
Speaking on NBC’s ‘Today’ show, he said: “I’ve known for the past 13 years what Mathematics would be, and now it’s, like, what to do next There’s lots of questions going around in my head. I lived in Nashville for a couple of years, and I kind of fell in love with country music there. That’s something I would love to do at some point.”
The ‘Eyes Closed’ hitmaker previously explained that he “loves the culture” that surrounds country music after spending time in Nashville and discovering the “community” of songwriters there but explained that he had “never really listened” to the genre until he supported Taylor Swift on her ‘Red’ tour in 2013.
He told Billboard: “I love the culture of it, I just love the songwriting. It’s just like brilliant songs. It’s like a community. There’s not really a place in Europe where you could point and say, ‘That’s the home of songwriting,’” he says. “It’s not just for country music. Nashville is just a hub of incredible songwriters, incredible performers. And I really felt inspired just being there being around everyone.
“I’d never really listened to country music as a kid growing up. It was only being on Taylor’s Red tour and living in Nashville and her basically introducing me to that side of it.”