On Air Now
The Smooth Late Show with Martin Collins 10pm - 1am
Ed Sheeran new album: 'Play' release date, songs, listen to first single 'Azizam' and more
4 April 2025, 09:42 | Updated: 23 April 2025, 17:39
The ‘Thinking Out Loud’ artist is gearing up for the release of his eighth studio album.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Ed Sheeran’s next album is coming very soon.
The ‘Perfect’ singer will be releasing his eighth studio album this year, and dropped the album's first single, 'Azizam', on April 4.
- Smooth's All Time Top 500 is back for 2025! Vote now and win £1,000
- Cherry Seaborn facts: Ed Sheeran's wife's age, children, health and career explained
- “Any requests?”: Watch Ed Sheeran serenade gobsmacked runner on London canals
So without further ado, here’s all there is to know about the ‘Lego House’ star’s next project...
Azizam
Ed Sheeran posts clip of performance rehearsal
What’s Ed Sheeran’s next album called?
Ed Sheeran’s next album will be called Play.
The 34-year-old officially revealed his title plans for his next album (and seemingly future releases too) during an appearance on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon in March 2025.
Ed Sheeran Reveals Album Title Play, Sings "Old Phone" and Talks Writing "Shape of You" for Rihanna
Following on from his series of mathematically named albums Plus, Multiply, Divide, Subtract and Equals, Ed is now preparing to release albums called Play, Fast Forward, Rewind, and Stop.
While chatting with Jimmy, Ed also revealed he is interested in the idea of working on a posthumous album called Eject.
“I kind of want to make an album for the whole of my life where you put different songs on and then it’s in your will that it comes out the day you die, and it’s called Eject,” he said.
“Imagine if when [Paul] McCartney passes away and there’s a record that he’s made that has a song from when he’s 16, there’s a song from when he’s 20, there’s a song from when he’s 30. It’d be fascinating.”
During the interview, Ed also spoke about how (inspired by Quentin Tarantino's dedication to only releasing ten films) he has been considering whether he will only want to work on “side projects” after releasing ten symbol-inspired albums.
When will Play be released?
A release date for Play has not yet been announced.
Ed has confirmed, however, that the album will be released sometime in 2025.
Teasing what fans can expect from Play, he revealed on social media in March: “This whole album is about being playful, explorative, and celebratory.”
What is Play’s first single?
Play’s first single is called ‘Azizam’, and was released on April 4, 2025.
‘Azizam’ means ‘my dear’, ‘darling’ or ‘my love’ in Persian, and was inspired by Ed’s collaboration with music producer Ilya Salmanzadeh.
Ed Sheeran - Making of Azizam (Studio Behind the Scenes)
Taking to Instagram to announce his new track, Ed opened up about how he started working on ‘Azizam’: “I wrote Azizam after [Ilya] suggested trying out making music inspired by his Persian heritage and culture...
“I loved how a lot of rhythms, scales, melodies and instruments were different but similar to the Irish trad music I had grown up with. It was showing to me music connects us all, and really is a universal language.”
Is there an 'Azizam' music video?
Yes, a music video for ‘Azizam’ by Ed Sheeran was released on the same day as Play's first single came out (Friday, April 4).
Ed Sheeran - Azizam (Pink Heart Video)
The video was directed by Liam Pethick, and filmed on location in the US and at the grounds of Ed's beloved Ipswich FC during the promotional tour the singer did for his new album's first single in March, 2025.
What songs are on Ed Sheeran’s new album?
Ed Sheeran has teased several songs from Play so far, but most remain a mystery for now.
Alongside ‘Azizam’, Ed has teased tracks called ‘Sapphire’, ‘Old Phone’ and ‘Heaven’ so far.
Speaking with Variety in December 2024, Ed teased he’s “getting back into big pop for the first time in a long time” for his next album.
“It’s quite exciting,” the father of two shared.
