Ed Sheeran announces surprise gig this month in Dublin

Plus special guest Cian Ducrot 🤩

Author: Emma DicksonPublished 1st Mar 2023
Last updated 1st Mar 2023

Ed Sheeran has just surprised fans with the announcement of a mini-tour, launching his new single from his upcoming album, Subtract.

Returning to Dublin later this month for a 3Arena show on 30th March, tickets go on sale from ticketmaster.ie next Friday, 10th March.

The mini-tour across UK and Europe will launch the first single from his upcoming new album, Subtract.

After a lot of speculation, Ed has now confirmed the album will be released on 5th May 2023, and it is available to preorder now. The singer took to Instagram to share the news with a video which shows Ed walking along a beach as the sea washes over the album's song names.

What is the tracklist for 'Subtract'?

Ed revealed the tracklist to his new album in the video where he announced the album's release date. The song names are written in the sand as the sea washes over them.

'Boat'

'Salt Water'

'Eyes Closed'

'Life Goes On'

'Dusty'

'End Of Youth'

'Colourblind'

'Curtains'

'Borderline'

'Spark'

'Vega'

'Sycamore'

'No Strings'

'The Hills of Aberfeldy'

What has Ed said about his new album?

Ed revealed in a caption that he has been working on 'Subtract' for more than 10 years. The singer explained how writing songs is his 'therapy'.

He wrote: 'I had been working on Subtract for a decade, trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album, writing and recording hundreds of songs with a clear vision of what I thought it should be. Then at the start of 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art.

'Writing songs is my therapy. It helps me make sense of my feelings. I wrote without thought of what the songs would be, I just wrote whatever tumbled out. And in just over a week I replaced a decade’s worth of work with my deepest darkest thoughts.'

'Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumour, with no route to treatment until after the birth. My best friend Jamal, a brother to me, died suddenly, and I found myself standing in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter. I was spiralling through fear, depression and anxiety. I felt like I was drowning, head below the surface, looking up but not being able to break through for air.

'As an artist I didn’t feel like I could credibly put a body of work into the world that didn’t accurately represent where I am and how I need to express myself at this point in my life. This album is purely that. It’s opening the trapdoor into my soul. For the first time, I’m not trying to craft an album people will like, I’m merely putting something out that’s honest and true to where I am in my adult life.

'This is last February’s diary entry and my way of making sense of it. This is Subtract.' (sic)

You can hear many of Ed Sheeran's songs on Cool FM.

Take a look through Ed Sheeran's collaboration projects:

‘If I Could’ with Wiley

Released in 2011, this R&B grime tune cruised its way into the UK Charts. English rapper Wiley is no stranger to a chart hit, known for big tunes such as 'Wearing My Rolex' and 'Heatwave'.

‘Everything Has Changed’ and 'End Game' with Taylor Swift

Hitting the UK Top 10, 'Everything Has Changed' was certainly a collab to remember back in 2013. Teaming up with mega-star Taylor Swift again in 2017 with 'End Game', these two showed us they really know how to make a banger!

‘Lay It All on Me’ and ‘Bloodstream’ with Rudimental

Ed has joined forces with Rudimental several times, providing us with big hits including 'Lay It All On Me' and 'Bloodstream'. Both songs made it to the UK Top 20, with 'Bloodstream' hitting the impressive Number 2 spot.

‘Perfect Duet’ with Beyoncé

In 2017, Beyoncé and Ed went straight to the top of the charts with this gorgeous duet. The song was an acoustic version of Ed's smash-hit 'Perfect'.

‘Perfect Symphony’ and ‘This Is the Only Time’ with Andrea Bocelli

The re-imaginations of Ed's 'Perfect' didn't stop there! Teaming up with Italian singer-songwriter Andrea Bocelli, the pair released the 'Perfect Symphony', featuring stunning Italian vocals from both Andrea and Ed.

‘River’ with Eminem

In 2017, Ed joined forces with music giant Eminem with 'River'. The song was, undeniably, a HUGE hit, gliding its way to the Number 1 spot in the UK Charts.

‘I Don't Care’ with Justin Bieber

And who can forget this iconic collaboration between Ed and Justin Bieber? 2019 saw the pair team up to bring us the playful 'I Don't Care', which cruised to Number 1 in several countries, including the UK.

‘Best Part of Me’ with Yebba

Pairing up with American singer YEBBA, we were all gifted with the gorgeous song 'Best Part Of Me' in 2019. Abbey Smith, better known as YEBBA, has teamed up with other huge names in the past such as Mark Ronson, Sam Smith and Rudimental. The song has since been certified Gold.

‘Antisocial’ with Travis Scott

This lively bop was the product of an incredible collaboration between Ed and Travis Scott. Travis, known for hits like 'SICKO MODE' and 'BUTTERFLY EFFECT', has worked with other huge names such as Quavo, The Weeknd, Kanye West and The 1975.

‘South of the Border’ with Camila Cabello and Cardi B

Later in 2019 the singer joined forces with Camila Cabello and Cardi B to bring us 'South of the Border'. The spicy collab was incredibly popular with fans, hitting Number 4 in the UK Singles Chart.

'Take Me Back to London' and 'Own It' with Stormzy

'Take Me Back to London' saw the pair reach Number 1 on the UK Singles Chart, following the release of its remix. Fans went wild for the collaboration between the two, buzzing over Stormzy's vibrant energy mixing with Ed's melodic talents — so it's no wonder the song has been certified 3x Platinum. They teamed up once again for Stormzy's track 'Own It'.

'Merry Christmas' with Elton John

In 2021, Ed and Elton teamed up to create a Christmas track called 'Merry Christmas'. They also released a music video which includes scenes from different famous festive films.


The pair went on to work with social media influencer LadBaby to create a charity Christmas single called 'Sausage Rolls For Everyone'.

'The Joker and The Queen' with Taylor Swift

Ed Sheeran revealed in February 2022 that he was going to release a version of this song 'The Joker and The Queen' with Taylor Swift. The music video was released later that week.
The video sees Ava Ames and Jack Lewis reprise their roles nearly a decade after they first appeared in Taylor Swift's song 'Everything Has Changed' with Ed Sheeran.

'Bam Bam' with Camila Cabello

Camila teamed up with Ed again in 2022 on 'Bam Bam'. The catchy tune reached Number 7 in the UK Singles Chart.

'2Step' with Lil Baby

Lil Baby featured on a new version of Ed's album track '2Step'. The song's music video was recorded in Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine before the war started.
Ed announced throughout May he would be sharing some 'incredible remixes' of the song, starting with one by the Ukrainian band Antytila.

'My G' with Aitch

Ed teamed up with Aitch on 'My G', which was released in August 2022. The song is dedicated to Aitch's younger sister, Gracie, with Aitch describing Ed as his sister's favourite artist.

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