Ed Sheeran has released his latest single ‘Old Phone’ (listen here) along with the announcement of his new album ‘Play’ (Pre-order here), set to be released on 12th September 2025.
After closing the chapter on his Mathematics series, Ed Sheeran is stepping boldly into a fresh phase for 2025. Known for evolving, his latest album, ‘Play’, sees him exploring new musical ground through global collaborations, while also diving deeper into timeless sounds that have made him a beloved pop artist. Inspired by Indian and Persian musical cultures—and their connections to the Irish folk tradition—he explored this borderless musical language, giving the album its fresh edge.
On familiar territory, Sheeran shows us why he is the leading singer-songwriter of his generation, offering beautiful ballads and acoustic songs. The collection combines both classic and fresh elements, resulting in a bold pop sound that only Ed Sheeran can create — a lively display of his talent that feels exciting and transformative, promising to be one of the standout albums of the year.
Ed said…”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. I made this record all over the world, finished it in Goa, India, and had some of the most fun, explorative creative days of my life. 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. Going into this album campaign I said to myself ‘I just want everything I do to be fun and playful’ – so that’s why we are building pubs for folk jams, doing gigs on open top buses and singing in pink cowboy hats on bars. The older I get the more I just want to enjoy things, and savour the moments that are mad and chaotic. You can preorder play now, many many more playful things to come before it’s out x”
After his colorful pop hit ’Azizam’, Sheeran reflects on his past in his new single ‘Old Phone’, where he powers up an old phone not used since 2015 and discovers messages from a lost friend, an argument with an ex, and distant family. This highlights how time and distance change who we are. The song combines nostalgic acoustic melodies with strong emotions, linking back to Ed’s early songwriting while exploring themes of growth and memory. ‘Old Phone’ was produced by Blake Slatkin & Ilya Salmanzadeh.