He’s back.
He’s back.
He’s back.
While scrolling through the Instagram feed on their phone on Dec. 13, 2016, many people’s thumbs stilled the frame when they saw a familiar username. U.K. singer Ed Sheeran, known on the social site as @teddysphotos, had posted a light blue colored square and no caption. His photo gained over 215,000 likes and 40,000 comments.
This was the first documented activity on social media that the artist had made in a full year. The singer appeared in another post on New Year’s Day with the caption “Hello 2017…” The sign he held in his hands announced that there would be new music released that Friday.
Two singles were released on Jan. 6 at 5 a.m. The songs are entitled “Castle on the Hill” and “Shape of You.” Both singles are cohesive with Sheeran’s aesthetic of combining acoustic guitar with pop and techno elements. They each have received positive feedback and five star ratings on iTunes.
“Truly overwhelmed with the reaction to these new songs,” Sheeran wrote to his fans. “I’ve never had anything like this, thank you for all your wonderful messages. Now please blast them out as loud as you can from every speaker you can find, as many times as you can!”
Sheeran went MIA after posting a letter on Dec. 13, 2015. He said he would be taking a break from all social media and emails. Sheeran thanked his family, fans and friends for their support over the last five years and asked to be understood in “buggering off for a bit.”
“I find myself seeing myself through a screen and not my eyes so I’m taking this opportunity of me not having to be anywhere or do anything to travel the world and see everything I’ve missed,” Sheeran said. “To my fans, the third album is on its way and is the best thing I have made so far. See you next autumn, and thank you for being amazing.”
Sheeran faced 2 lawsuits during 2016 that may have led to him extending his vacation past autumn. His hit song “Photograph” was accused of copying a string of chords from Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard’s 2009 song “Amazing” while “Thinking out Loud” was suspected of resembling Marvin Gaye’s hit song “Let’s Get It On”. News of the lawsuits has slowed since October 2016 but if tensions rise again and the judge rules in favor of the plaintiffs, Sheeran will owe over $20 million.
One appearances made by the singer in 2016 included a cameo in the fall film “Bridget Jones’ Baby”. He also took part in a social experiment where pedestrians could pay $2 to see Ed Sheeran in a peep-show. The video was posted to YouTube on Dec. 6 and went viral.
Sheeran’s still has not officially announced the new album's title, but insinuated that it may follow the mathematical theme of his earlier two. His first album was titled “+ (Plus)” while his second album was named “X (Multiply)”. A symbol showed on his clips released on Twitter and Instagram show a division sign.
