One day, while Ed Sheeran was preparing for a major tour in the U.S., he received a mysterious phone call from an unknown man. The man claimed to be a loyal fan of Ed, but had a very strange request. “I’ll reveal a secret about your past that no one knows, unless you do exactly what I say,” the man said in a cold, menacing voice.

At first, Ed thought it was just a prank, but when the man started detailing an incident from years ago—something only Ed himself would know—he started to feel uneasy. The man revealed that one night, when Ed was just a young musician trying to make it in London, he got caught up in a huge scandal at a local bar.

A fight broke out, and in the chaos, Ed accidentally punched a man who turned out to be a major player in the entertainment industry, a person Ed had no idea had such power. This incident not only put Ed in danger but also pulled him into a world of shady deals and underground networks he never wanted to be a part of.

Ed, terrified that this incident would ruin his career, kept quiet about it. He tried to move on, but for years, he lived with the fear that one day the truth would come out.

But then, the man revealed something even more unsettling: he had a recording of Ed—something Ed had completely forgotten about. One drunken night, while recording in the studio, Ed had unknowingly sung a song that he had no intention of ever releasing. The song contained lyrics that revealed deep secrets about Ed’s past relationships, things he never wanted to make public.

The man threatened to release the song to the world, forcing Ed into a difficult decision: continue to stay silent and live with the anxiety, or face the music and reveal everything.

Under immense pressure, Ed finally decided to confront his fears. He made the bold choice to reveal everything in a special interview. He spoke about the scandal, about his past mistakes, and how he had grown and learned from them.

The song, which Ed had accidentally recorded that night, ended up being included in his next album. It wasn’t just a piece of music—it became an emotional confession of his past, a way to deal with the mistakes he’d made and the fears that had haunted him for years.

While fans were shocked at first, they admired Ed’s honesty and bravery. They respected him even more for facing his past head-on and sharing it with the world. Through the ordeal, Ed learned that even the darkest secrets could be overcome, and that his music—his true self—was the key to healing and moving forward.

Ed Sheeran Has Seemingly Revealed the Title of His Next Album

The “Shape of You” singer appears to be gearing up to press play on his pop return in 2025.

Ed Sheeran performs with The Offspring on Day 3 of BottleRock Napa Valley at Napa Valley Expo on May 26, 2024 in Napa, Calif.

Ed Sheeran has seemingly just revealed the name of his upcoming LP in a social media comment. The Suffolk-based pop star has been teasing his return for 2025 and shared a few hints about what the record may sound like.

Now, in a comment on an Instagram post, Sheeran appeared to reveal that the record would be called Play.

The “Shape of You” singer was responding to a post on the page of @memezar, which noted that Sheeran had changed his profile picture in anticipation of the return. “Ed Sheeran recently changed his profile picture guys! What math is he gonna do next?” a fan wrote. This referred to the Sheeran’s Mathematics album series, which included five studio records: + (2011), x (2014), ÷ (2017), = (2021) and – (2023).

 

In response, Sheeran wrote: “Irony is if you ask me anything maths related I would fail the question, I never finished high school.” He then signed off by appearing to reveal the title of his next LP. “Play coming soon though,” he added.

 

In another comment to a fan who wrote theorised that the next series of records would be called “Play, Pause, Stop, Rewind, Skip,” Sheeran responded: “might skip Skip tbf.”

It’s not the first time he’s referred to the title. In 2023, Sheeran posted: “See you sometime next year when we press Play again on pop, and have a good holiday season x.” In 2022, he confirmed that he would be making “10 symbol records,” but said that “the next five won’t be maths.” Billboard U.K. has reached out to Sheeran’s representatives for comment.

His upcoming record would be Sheeran’s eighth studio LP, and would follow 2023’s Autumn Variations. In December, Sheeran teased that his new album would be a return to bigger sounds. “It feels like I’m getting back into big pop for the first time in a long time,” he told Variety. “It’s quite exciting.”

Earlier this week an impromptu performance by Sheeran was shut down by police in Bengaluru, India due to an alleged lack of permissions. In footage of the incident police can be seen interrupting Sheeran’s performance of “Shape of You” and unplugging his instruments. “We have permission to be here, but this policeman is shutting it down,” Sheeran can be heard telling the crowd. “See you later!”

 

Sheeran is in the midst of his Mathematics tour and will perform on Saturday (Feb. 15) in Delhi before a run of dates in China.