Ed Sheeran has been on a hiatus for a little over a year. During his hiatus, he did not release new music and completely withdrew from social media. Sheeran's hiatus, for his fans, was like a long hot summer- seemingly endless and somewhat miserable. However, the singer didn't leave his fans with nothing to listen to; Sheeran has released two albums including X and +. Sheeran's music has been wildly popular, so it left fans puzzled as to why he would want to take a break from all of his fame and success. Yet, with his return, fans have been even more eager to listen to his music. The hiatus, while unexpected, was very understandable considering a performer's life.

There is no question that the music industry is emotionally and physically tolling. As a regular person, when you attend a concert, are you really thinking about all the work and time the performer has put in? Are you thinking about how they've traveled all around the country with little to no sleep? The answer is no. The thoughts circulating in your head during a concert are nothing of that nature. People don't think about all of the behind the scenes action that goes into a performer's life. When you really think about a performer's lifestyle, it is easy to see why they would take a hiatus. Ed Sheeran posted on Instagram, December 13, 2015, informing his fans of his plans to take a break until the following autumn. However, his post withheld a beacon of hope for his fans reading, " ... the third album is on its way and is the best thing I have made thus far." People were eager for this new album's release and carefully counted down the days until autumn. Autumn came and was coming to an end, and fans were concerned Ed would not return as promised. Finally, on December 13, 2016, the singer posted a picture of a blank blue screen on Instagram. Fans knew this meant his return was coming.

Fans waited and waited, but there was no more social media activity for a while. After he let the suspense grow, the singer posted a video on January 1, 2017. This video featured Sheeran holding up a sign that read, " New Music Coming Friday!!" Fans were fired up for the singer's music once again. On January 6, 2017, the singer finally released not only one, but two hit singles. The songs "Castle on the Hill" and "Shape of You" are currently reigning in glory and soaring to the top of the charts. It is clear that the singer's next album, to be released on March third, will follow in his previous album's footsteps of being very popular worldwide, despite the hiatus.