Ed Sheeran's eighth album 'Play': Everything you need to know
'Play' celebrates love, life, culture, exploring, creativity and technicolour
Last updated 15th Sep 2026
Ed Sheeran's eighth album finally landed in September 2025, following the release of promotional singles 'A Little More', 'Azizam', 'Old Phone', 'Sapphire' and 'Drive'. Ed called it a 'celebration of love, life, culture, exploring, creativity and technicolour'.
Since releasing his debut album '+' in 2011, Ed has followed a mathematical theme for all of his studio albums, culminating in his mammoth 'Mathematics Tour'. He's since teased a new theme for subsequent albums, so let's find out all about Ed's eighth studio album...
When did it come out?
Ed's album 'Play' dropped on Friday 12th September 2025. Taking to Instagram to celebrate the release, Ed said: 'Play is the album that’s made me fall in love with fun again. Writing and recording Subtract was so cathartic but also so heavy. Going into Stereo after Mathematics ended I wanted to start with the polar opposite.
'Play celebrates love, life, culture, exploring, creativity and technicolour. I’ve loved making this record and the last 6 months have been just what I needed to get back into the swing of things - to reheat my love for pop, and popping up.
'It’s an album I’m immensely proud of, and just makes me feel good. I hope it does the same for you. Thank you to all my insanely talented collaborators, and all the fans along the journey who have been at all our pop ups. More to come. Play is out now, lemme know in the comments what your fav song is x'. (sic)
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Which songs are on Ed Sheeran's 'Play' album?
The tracklist for his 'Play' album is below:
1) 'Opening'
2) 'Sapphire'
3) 'Azizam'
4) 'Old Phone'
5) 'Symmetry'
6) 'Camera'
7) 'In Other Words'
8) 'A Little More'
9) 'Slowly'
10) 'Don't Look Down'
11) 'The Vow'
12) 'For Always'
13) 'Heaven'
Where did it come in the charts?
'Play' debuted at the top spot in the UK, giving Ed his ninth Number 1 record to include his compilation album '+−=÷× (Tour Collection)'. It was certified Gold by the BPI in October 2025, translating to 100,000 sales in the UK.
Did Ed Sheeran tour 'Play'?
He sure did — Ed took 'Play' on tour in the UK in December 2025, visiting Coventry and Manchester on 5th and 7th of the month.
What is 'Play' about?
On 1st May 2025, Ed shared details of his upcoming album, writing: '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 busses 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. Old Phone also out today, go listen x'. (sic)
'Play x Portman Road' album
Ahead of his homecoming gigs at Ipswich Town's Portman Road, Ed announced he would be releasing a special version of his album. The singer revealed that the special edition 'Play x Portman Road' would be available on picture disc and cassette, along with a commemorative lanyard, which would give fans instant access to exclusive content through their phone.
Sharing photos of the special edition, Ed's HQ account wrote: 'Celebrate Ed’s homecoming Ipswich shows this weekend with the special edition Play x Portman Road Picture Disc & Cassette. Pre-order now on the store - limited copies available! ▶️ UK & EU exclusive
'Plus if you’re heading to the shows this weekend, get your ‘Play’ x Portman Road Commemorative Lanyard. Tap the lanyard with your phone to get instant access to exclusive content, unreleased audio snippets from Play and more. When the album drops, your lanyard will also give you access to the entire album. Head to the merch stand at Portman Road to get yours 🩷'
What will the next theme be for Ed Sheeran's albums?
In March 2025, Ed confirmed on social media he'd finished his album. He later confirmed to Jimmy Fallon that his album is called 'Play'. He said previously in September 2024 on Instagram: 'We have one more year of this tour then Mathematics is over for good, and onto the next set of symbols…'
This mention of symbols appeared to confirm what many fans thought in late 2023, after Ed posted on Instagram a video, with a caption that ended: 'See you sometime next year when we press Play again on pop, and have a good holiday season x'.
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Using the word Play with a capital letter in the caption caused a lot of excitement amongst fans, as they began to speculate what the names of his next set of albums will be. One person on Reddit wrote: 'Why do I see "Play, Pause, Rewind, Forward, Stop" as the next series of albums in the future', with another replying to the comment: 'You're actually right xD
'They've been tattooed on his arm and he said the next series has been tattooed on his arm for over 10 years.
'"Play, Pause, Rewind, Forward, and Stop" are the next 5 albums.' And it looks they were right!
Ed also confirmed the names of his next albums in an interview with Hits Radio. He told them he came up with the idea many years ago: "When I was 18, I was just like I wanna do 10 records, I'd done five EPs and I was like, I wanna do 10 albums, ‘Multiply’, ‘Plus’, ‘Divide’, ‘Equals’, ‘Subtract’, and then ‘Play’, ‘Pause’, ‘Rewind’, ‘Fast Forward’, ‘Stop’.
“I just thought it was nice to... you always know what the next thing's gonna be, what the colours gonna be, what the symbols gonna be."
He added: "I thought maybe if I do a deluxe version of ‘Play’ it can be called ‘Replay’."
How has Ed described his new album?
Ed told his fans on social media that his new album 'is about being playful, explorative, and celebratory.'
On the day of release, Ed also described the album as a celebration of 'love, life, culture, exploring, creativity and technicolour', admitting it has reheated his love for pop music.
Take a look through Ed Sheeran's career:
Career beginnings
Ed comes from a very creative family - his parents are in the art world and his brother is a composer, so it's no surprise that Ed was encouraged towards music from a young age. He began singing at his local church from the age of four, and learned to play the guitar at 11, even writing songs whilst still at high school. He made it into the National Youth Theatre in London and also performed with Youth Music Theatre UK in 2007.
2004: First record 'Spinning Man'
In 2004, Ed started recording his music and independently released his first collection of work, 'Spinning Man'. In 2005, he released 'The Orange Room' EP which featured four tracks - 'I Love You', 'Addicted', 'Misery' and 'Moody Ballad Of Ed'. Ed once revealed that fellow singer-songwriter Damien Rice had been a huge inspiration for him, saying in 2015: "I was only about 11 or 12 years old when I saw Damien play at Whelan's, and that night literally changed my life. The time he spent talking with me after the show made all the difference. It inspired me in a way that I only hope to do for someone else."
2008: Britannia High
In 2008, he moved to London to pursue his music career, playing small venues and busking. In the same year, Ed auditioned for Britannia High at just 16-years-old! The auditions were shown on the telly, with Ed auditioning alongside the likes of Pixie Lott and Skins star Mitch Hewer, to take part in a show all about a fictional theatre school. Although he impressed the judges with his voice, Ed didn't quite have all the skills they were looking for, and did not progress.
2010: SBTV performance of 'You Don't Need Me'
2010 was a fantastic year for Ed - he recorded a studio session for Jamal Edwards' SB.TV, and his live performance of 'You Need Me, I Don't Need You' went viral. Off the back of that, rapper Example invited him on tour, leading Ed to release his critically-acclaimed EP 'Loose Change', which featured his debut single, 'The A-Team'. Watch his incredible SBTV performance on YouTube. 'Loose Change' was certified Gold by the BPI in June 2024, translating to over 100,000 sales in the UK alone!
Ed's career was picking up by now and the Internet loved him. He was gaining celebrity fans in the form of footballers, fellow musicians and even national newspapers. Within that year, he was invited to perform at The Foxxhole, a club run by actor Jamie Foxx, who also invited him to stay at his home.
2011: 'No. 5 Collaborations Project'
On 8th January 2011, Ed released yet another independent EP, 'No. 5 Collaborations Project', featuring UK grime artists such as Wiley, JME, Devlin, and Ghetts which gained mainstream attention. At its peak, the project reached Number 2 in the iTunes charts with over 7,000 first week sales. Within that month Ed had signed to Asylum Records. Ed's international success began on 26th April 2011 when he appeared on Later... with Jools Holland, where he first performed his debut single. 'The A-Team' served as the lead single from his debut studio album '+' and the single sold 58,000 copies in the first week, becoming a Top 10 hit in eight countries.
His debut album reached Number 1 on the UK albums chart in 2011, selling over 790,000 copies, and became the second best-selling debut album. Today, the album is 6x Platinum and has sold over one million copies. Later in 2011, Ed shared his talents and co-wrote the song, 'Moments', on the debut album by the boy band One Direction. This was the start of Ed Sheeran's hugely successful songwriting career.
2012: BRITs and Ivors wins, huge performances and Taylor Swift friendship
Ed had an absolutely massive 2012 - things really started to kick off for him. He released the single 'Drunk' in February, which was closely followed by two major wins at The BRIT Awards - taking home Best British Male Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act of the Year.
He then expanded his reach to audiences across the pond, performing as a support act for Snow Patrol on their US tour throughout March, April and May. May also saw Ed win at the prestigious Ivor Novello Awards, taking home Best Song Musically and Lyrically for 'The A Team' and winning over Adele and Florence and the Machine.
The summer also brought with it incredible opportunities for Ed. He performed at the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in June, singing 'The A Team', and also at the 2012 London Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony, singing a cover of 'Wish You Were Here' by Pink Floyd. He then found time to pen two major hits for other artists - co-writing and providing backing vocals on 'Everything Has Changed' by Taylor Swift, and 'Little Things' by One Direction - which marked the band's second UK Number 1.
Ed rounded off the year by playing his largest UK shows to date, performing at London's Hammersmith Apollo, the Manchester Apollo, Hull Arena, Newcastle City Hall and various other major venues.
2013-14: The Hobbit soundtrack and follow-up album
From March to September 2013, Ed played at arenas and stadiums across North America as the opening act for Taylor. He then went on to headline three sold-out shows at New York's Madison Square Garden a month later. He debuted 'Tenerife Sea' and 'I See Fire', the featured song for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
Ed was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2014 GRAMMY Awards. He teased the follow-up album to '+' and by early June 2014 he released 'Sing' which earned his first Number 1 single in the UK and announced his next album would be titled 'x' ('Multiply'). 'Thinking Out Loud' was released as the album's third single. Unlike his previous videos, Ed took the lead role where he performed a ballroom dance. It became his second single to reach Number 1 in the UK and has since been certified 8x Platinum!
2015: Ivor Novello songwriting award
In 2015, he won British Male Solo Artist and British Album of the Year for 'x' at the BRIT Awards. He also received the Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year. The album was named the second best-selling album worldwide, debuting at Number 1 in the UK and selling 180,000 copies in its first week. Ed released five songs from 'x' including Number 1 hits 'Sing' and 'Thinking Out Loud'. Ed also set up his own record label in 2015, Gingerbread Man Records.
2016: Social media break and GRAMMY Awards
In February 2016, Ed won for the first time at the GRAMMY Awards - taking home not one, but two gongs for his song 'Thinking Out Loud'. He won Song of the Year as well as Best Pop Solo Performance, winning against 'Blank Space' by Taylor Swift in both categories.
After an extremely successful few years, Ed ditched his phone and decided to take a year-long hiatus and social media break. In a post on 13th December 2015, he announced he would be back 'next autumn'. That was the last we saw of Ed Sheeran until 13th December 2016 when he changed his Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram handle to a light blue, implying the release of a new album. On 1st January 2017, Ed uploaded a video which showed him holding a piece of paper with the words 'New Music Coming Friday'.
2017: MBE Award and third album
Ed released his third album, '÷' in January 2017, which became the fastest-selling album by a male solo artist in the UK, and third fastest in UK chart history. It was an amazing year for Ed - 'Shape of You', taken from the album '÷', was named the best selling single of 2017 in the UK and the best selling single of 2017 in the US. In January 2019, he even broke a YouTube record for the song, becoming only the second video ever to reach 4 billion views. The album was named the best selling album of 2017 in the UK and the US.
In 2017, Ed Sheeran was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire). He received his award from Prince Charles in December 2017. Ed was originally announced to receive an MBE back in June 2017, for the Queen's birthday honours list. At the time of collecting his award Ed said: "My grandfather... he died on this day four years ago, so it's actually quite a nice full circle thing, I guess he'd be pretty proud".
2018: Ed Sheeran wins two Grammy Awards
2018 started off pretty successfully for Ed - within the first few days of the year, he was revealed to have released the best-selling single of the UK in 2017 with 'Shape of You' AND the best-selling album of the UK in 2017 for '÷' ('Divide'). Not only that, but he was also found to be the best-selling artist worldwide in 2017, with the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) announcing him as the Global Recording Artist of the Year.
In February, he won the Global Success Award and performed at the ceremony, singing 'Supermarket Flowers', and later that year took home TWO more GRAMMY Awards: Best Pop Solo Performance for 'Shape of You' and Best Pop Vocal Album for '÷'.
2019: Fourth album, semi-retirement, Ed-chup and statue
In July 2019 he released his album 'No.6 Collaborations Project' which was made up entirely of incredible collaborations with other artists. In 2019 alone he released several Top 10 songs, including 'I Don't Care' with Justin Bieber, and 'Beautiful People' featuring Khalid.
Ed also won the Global Success at the BRIT Awards for the second year running, and was also the subject of a statue in Moscow ahead of his gig there at the end of July 2019. The huge statue was done to commemorate Ed's first performance in the country, and shows the singer in a lying down pose outside Gorky Park, wearing a white graffitied shirt, red trousers, white socks and aviator shades.
Ed joined forces with Heinz for their 150th birthday to launch his very own Heinz Tomato Ketchup, dubbed "Edchup". Edchup was apparently created after he shared several social media posts declaring his love for Heinz Tomato Ketchup. What a guy.
Ed announced in August 2019 that he would be semi-retiring after being on tour for two years. Ed said: "As you may or not know, I've been on the Divide tour for over two years now and this is the last day of the whole thing. There is something very bittersweet about it. I love that you guys are here and we are ending it in Ipswich. This is my last gig for probably 18 months."
2021: Ed announces album '=' and new single 'Visiting Hours'
In May 2021, Ed dropped a massive hint that we'd have new music and a brand new tour coming our way. A month later in June 2021, Ed released his single 'Bad Habits'. In April 2022, the song hit 1 billion streams on Spotify, making this his 10th song to reach this amazing milestone.
Ed officially announced his fifth album '=' ('Equals') in August 2021, describing it as a "coming of age record", and the following month he announced his huge stadium tour for 2022, named 'The Mathematics Tour'.
On 29th October 2021, Ed released his album '=' ('Equals'). Sharing a picture of himself alongside his new album cover, the singer wrote: '= (equals) is out now. This is my favourite album I've made, I'm so proud of it. Thank you to all the wonderful people who worked on it with me. To the fans, I hope you love it as much I do, it's been a long journey to this point.'
Featuring 'Bad Habits', 'Visiting Hours' and 'Shivers', the record went to Number 1 in the UK, spending four non-consecutive weeks at the top spot. It's since been certified 4x Platinum in the UK.
2022: BRIT Awards and 'Mathematics Tour' begins
The BRIT Awards 2022 were rather eventful for Ed, to say the least! Kicking the ceremony off, Ed took to the stage with rock band Bring Me The Horizon, as they performed his hit track 'Bad Habits'. As well as plenty of pyrotechnics, the amazing performance also involved a healthy amount of lasers, aerial performers and even a contortionist.
Not only that, but Ed went on to receive the Songwriter of the Year Award, presented to him by scientist Brian Cox. The singer paid tribute to his wife Cherry in his acceptance speech, before taking to the stage for a second time to sing 'The Joker and The Queen'.
Releasing his '2Step' remix with Lil Baby in April, Ed followed it up with several other versions of the song remixed by different artists. The music video for the song was filmed in Kyiv before the war started, and Ed announced that he would be donating his record royalties from the song's YouTube streams to the DEC's Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
Ed also embarked on his 'Mathematics Tour' in April, kicking off the mammoth tour in Dublin, Ireland.
2022: Ed Sheeran closes the Platinum Jubilee celebrations
In May 2022, Ed Sheeran released a new version of his 2021 album '=' - the 'Tour Edition'. Featuring nine extra tracks, it included two unreleased tracks from the film Yesterday, which Ed starred in. It also had several collabs, including 'The Joker And The Queen' with Taylor Swift and '2Step' with Lil Baby.
Ed Sheeran was chosen to close the Platinum Jubilee celebrations by performing at the Pageant outside Buckingham Palace, taking to the stage on 5th June to sing his 2017 song 'Perfect' in tribute to the Queen and her late husband Philip.
Additionally in June was the announcement from the Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) that Ed Sheeran was the most played artist in 2021, with his song 'Bad Habits' also being announced as the most played song in 2021.
2023: Jamal Edwards tribute song, hot sauce line and mini tour
Ed premiered a new song named 'F64' in January 2023, centred around his friendship with the late Jamal Edwards, who passed away suddenly in February 2022. Jamal helped Ed in the early days of his career, featuring him on his SBTV platform - with 'F64' being named after one of the brand's franchises. The video was filmed at Chelsea Football Club's Stamford Bridge, as Jamal was a lifelong Chelsea fan, with Ed standing in the centre of the pitch surrounded by candles.
Ed confirmed the name of his sixth album would be '-' ('Subtract') in February 2023, when fans started to receive a notebook with the subtract symbol in it. Ed then shared a fan's post which included a photo of the book and confirmed the release date would be 5th May 2023.
Also in February, Ed announced a hot sauce line called Tingly Ted's. We know Ed is a lover of condiments (Edchup!) so it's no surprise that he brought out his own range. Explaining how he made it, Ed said: "I had a year of whittling down the perfect flavours with a great mixing team, and we settled on two absolute belters, the Tingly and the Xtra Tingly. I've had them on tour with me recently to try them with all sorts of meals, and there really isn't anything they don't go with (except bananas, don't do that). I'm so excited to bring this product out, it's genuinely something I use every day on all three meals."
Ed performed a mini tour for the UK and Europe in March 2023, with four dates in the UK taking him to Manchester, London and Glasgow.
2023: Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All
Ed released his sixth studio album '-' ('Subtract') on 5th May along with a visual album, available on YouTube. The album features 14 songs and took the singer 10 years to write.
On the same day as the album release, Disney+ released a documentary about Ed called The Sum of It All. The four-part series showed Ed discussing some of the inspiration behind his biggest hits and includes never-before-seen personal footage.
Not content with releasing one album that year, Ed then released his seventh album 'Autumn Variations' on 29th September. It was the first of Ed's albums to be released on his own record label, Gingerbread Man Records. He also released a live version of the album, which was recorded in fans' homes.
In October 2023, Ed became the first British act to receive the Gold BRIT Billion Award. The accolade celebrates Ed's music receiving an incredible 10 billion UK streams.
2024: Ed Sheeran releases '+–=÷× (Tour Collection)' and a live version
In 2024 Ed Sheeran released '+–=÷× (Tour Collection)' on 27th September featuring 22 songs, followed by a live version of the album called '+–=÷× (Tour Collection: Live)'. The live version of the album included 17 songs. Both versions of the album included several hits including 'Sing', 'Eyes Closed' and 'The A Team'. The original version of the album has since been certified Gold.
2025: Ed Sheeran foundation, eighth album announcement and Coachella debut
In January 2025, Ed Sheeran announced the launch of The Ed Sheeran Foundation which aims to break down barriers and bring music education to all children, whatever their backgrounds.
In March 2025, Ed Sheeran told fans that he had finished his eighth studio album 'Play', and released the first song from the album called 'Azizam' on 4th April. He also revealed in an interview with Hits Radio that he would be releasing his album 'Play' after the summer.
In April 2025, Ed Sheeran performed at Coachella for the first time. As well as performing his own set, he also joined Post Malone on stage to close his set, and brought a pub with him called The Old Phone. Performing some intimate gigs at the pub, Ed welcomed Shaboozey and Alex Warren to perform their UK Number 1 songs.
2025: Ipswich Town gigs, eighth album and One Shot with Ed Sheeran
Ed performed three gigs in July 2025, where he was joined by several special guests over the three dates, including Myles Smith and Tori Kelly, Busted and Dylan, and James Blunt and Maisie Peters.
On 12th September 2025, Ed released his much-anticipated eighth studio album 'Play', alongside album single 'Camera'. The ballad is about the early days of a new relationship, and the music video features personal memories shared with his wife Cherry, which were re-recorded using Bridgerton actress Phoebe Dynevor.
One Shot with Ed Sheeran: A Musical Experience was released on Netflix on 21st November, following Ed as he travelled through New York City, meeting fans and performing for them.
2026: Ed Sheeran and Martin Garrix released 'Repeat It'
Ed Sheeran and Martin Garrix released 'Repeat It'in May 2026 - a song they wrote back in 2014. Over the years, the Dutch DJ played early versions of the song in his sets, but it took a further 12 years for the song to get an official release. Ed also had a cameo in rom com film Solo Mio in 2026.
Author: Anna Sky Magliola
Anna Sky Magliola is a Digital Content Editor at Rayo, creating content for brands including Hits Radio, Greatest Hits Radio, KISS, Cool FM and Magic Radio. She began her career at Bauer Media in 2007 and has spent almost two decades creating engaging digital content for millions of readers, specialising in music news, celebrity interviews and TV features. A passionate dance music fan, Anna Sky has travelled the world to experience some of the biggest festivals and is always looking for the next great music story.