Ed Sheeran is preparing to release his new track, “Eyes Closed,” on March 24th, and on Wednesday, March 15th he opened up on the inspiration for the song.
Sheeran wrote, “This song is about losing someone, feeling like every time you go out and you expect to just bump into them, and every thing just reminds you of them and things you did together, You sorta have to take yourself out of reality sometimes to numb the pain of loss, but certain things just bring you right back into it.”
Sheeran continued to mention his friend Jamal Edwards, a music entrepreneur who passed away in February of 2022 due to cardiac arrest at 31 years old. Sheeran stated, “Blue was Jamal’s colour, but now is all I feel. And I guess music helps heal, so I’m dancing with my eyes closed to try get through it.”
Meanwhile, earlier on this month, Sheeran announced the last album in his decade long mathematical era, Subtract will arrive through Atlantic Records on May 5th.
Sheeran explained via an album announcement that, “I had been working on Subtract for a decade, trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album, writing and recording hundreds of songs with a clear vision of what I thought it should be. Then at the start of 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art.”
Sheeran concluded by saying, “I felt like I was drowning, head below the surface, looking up but not being able to break through for air, As an artist I didn’t feel like I could credibly put a body of work into the world that didn’t accurately represent where I am and how I need to express myself at this point in my life. This album is purely that. It’s opening the trapdoor into my soul. For the first time I’m not trying to craft an album people will like, I’m merely putting something out that’s honest and true to where I am in my adult life. This is last February’s diary entry and my way of making sense of it. This is Subtract.”
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