Ed Sheeran dropped a brand new dancey, Persian-inspired track, “Azizam,” on Thursday, the primary single off his upcoming eighth album, Play.
The musician launched the brand new single alongside an connected “Pink Coronary heart” video that includes footage shot throughout america “while selling the track this month,” he defined in a teaser on Instagram. Within the caption of the put up, he additionally promised an “official” music video however didn’t affirm when it could be launched.
Ilyah Salmanzadeh (whose labored with Ariana Grande, Charli XCX and Tate McRae) produced the track, and he and Sheeran made the track when the producer “steered attempting out making music impressed by his Persian heritage and tradition,” Sheeran shared on Instagram. “Azizam” is a time period of endearment which means “my expensive.”
Throughout a March look on The Tonight Present Starring Jimmy Fallon, the four-time Grammy winner spoke concerning the new track and introduced the title of his forthcoming album as Play. Sheeran defined that the identify of the document elaborates on the titles of his earlier albums — whereas additionally seemingly confirming the upcoming names of his still-unannounced future data.
“Once I was like 18, I had an concept for 10 albums and it was Plus, Multiply, Divide, Subtract, Equals, after which Play, Pause, Rewind, Quick Ahead and Cease,” he mentioned, noting that the 10-record format was impressed by Quentin Tarantino’s plan to make 10 movies and retire.
It’s unclear when Play will probably be launched, although Sheeran’s final album, Autumn Variations, was dropped in 2023 and landed at No. 4 on Billboard’s 200 Albums chart. Whereas he hasn’t dropped an album since then, he’s been busy on his ongoing Arithmetic Tour, which kicked off in April 2022 in Dublin and can shut out later this 12 months in September in Düsseldorf.
