News

Ed Sheeran Announces New Album = & New Song OUT NOW

By Lex Hervoix | August 19, 2021

Today (August 19), Ed Sheeran went live to announce some big news: the release date for his new album =!

The British singer took over the platform a couple of minutes before 2:00PM (GMT) for a special live stream. The day before, Sheeran had teased the announcement on his page, encouraging fans to “tune in for the big news.”

Over fours years after his latest solo album, ‘-‘, Ed Sheeran will be back with his much-awaited fourth full-length studio album, ‘=’ (Equals) on October 29th, 2021.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ed Sheeran (@teddysphotos)

Available for pre-order now, the 14-track album marks one of Sheeran’s most personal ones to date.

“The symbolism behind the album is one of new life,” Sheeran shared during the live stream. “I’ve been through, over the last four years, different experiences in life, including getting married, having a kid, losing friends. There are 14 songs on the album. It’s been a painstaking process counting it down to 14 songs but they all have their place and I love it. I think it’s the best piece of work that I’ve done, it’s cohesive.”

Over the course of those 14 songs, the singer reflects on the topics of love (‘The Joker And The Queen’, ‘First Times’, ‘2step’), loss (‘Visiting Hours’), resilience (‘Can’t Stop The Rain’) and fatherhood (‘Sandman’, ‘Leave Your Life’).

To celebrate the announcement, Sheeran performed a new song, “Visiting Hours,” which he wrote for his late friend, Australian music impresario Michael Gudinski. “This song is very, very dear to my heart. It’s one of my favorite on the album. I finished it in quarantine in Australia when I flew over for my friend’s memorial.”

The song is available on all streaming platforms and will be followed by another new single due September 10.

‘=’ Official Tracklist: