Ed Sheeran has announced his fifth studio album “=” (pronounced equals) on Twitter and fans are hyped for its release on October 29.
It marks a return to the spotlight for the “Shape of You” singer who announced a hiatus in August to spend time with his wife of two years, 28, following the end of his record-breaking Divide tour and in that time, the couple had a daughter Lyra Antarctica born last year.
In a statement, Sheeran said: “= (Equals) is a really personal record and one that means a lot to me. My life changed greatly over the past few years – I got married, became a father, experienced loss, and I reflect on these topics over the course of the album. I see it as my coming-of-age record, and I can’t wait to share this next chapter with you.”
Sharing further details, the 30-year-old wrote in an Instagram post: “I started writing and recording this album June 2017. Its been a long, long process. I’ve been through love, loss, new life, grief and everything in between during the whole period of writing it, and I feel like it’s really a coming of age record. I’ve never been more proud of a body of work, or more excited/nervous for you all to hear it.”
Fans took to Twitter to share their glee at Sheeran’s highly anticipated announcement.
The album title “=” (pronounced equals) marks the fourth album from Sheeran that has been named after mathematical symbols – starting with first album “+” sophomore album “x” and third album “÷” and people were quick to joke about Sheeran’s obsession with maths symbols.
With the new album announcement came another treat for fans after Sheeran dropped one of the songs from “=” called “Visiting Hours.”
In his Instagram post, Sheeran explained the emotional context of the song, “The next song off of it is called Visiting Hours, which I finished for my friend Michael who sadly passed away this year.”
People who have already listened to the new song have shared their thoughts – they’re definitely in their feels.
Not sure we’re emotional prepared for this new era of music…
Sheeran dropped his first single “Bad Habits” on June 25 and scored his 10th UK Number with the comeback record – 92,000 chart sales and 8.7million streams, according to NME.