After taking a much-earned downtime, pop maestro and honorary Irishman Ed Sheeran finally brought fans some new material on Friday. So what do you we know about the singing star's much-anticipated return?
The break
After 5 years of non-stop recording and touring, Sheeran decided he needed a break, and who could blame him. Going out on a high – having just sold out three nights at London's Wembley Arena and two in our own Croke Park, and with a string of chart-topping hits still getting almost-constant radio play – the singer decided it was time to lay low.
Taking his decision to step away from the limelight seriously, Sheeran not only took a break from releasing music, but he also switched off from social media, with his last post coming on Instagram and Twitter on December 13, 2015.
The post explained that he would be taking a break from his phone as he found himself "seeing the world through a screen and not my eyes". Promising fans that he would return in 2017, he added that his highly-anticipated third album would be "the best thing I have made thus far."
We don't know much about what he's been up to since apart from making a cameo in the recent Bridget Jones movie - with a GAA GO top of course, writing the winner's single for the X Factor, duetting with Snow Patrol at a Derry wedding, oh and getting his face sliced open by Princess Beatrice with a sword while pretending to knight James Blunt. As you do!
He also revealed that he did some travel to places that he wasn't well known. "I specifically picked places where I wasn't really liked...No-one really cares about me in Japan. There are like two people that like me in Japan."
The return to social media
Exactly a year to the day of his social media hiatus, Sheeran returned on December 13, 2016 by posting a blue square to his accounts. Fans immediately went into a frenzy speculating that this could mean one thing, and one thing only, Ed's back, and there's new music on the way.
— Ed Sheeran (@edsheeran) December 13, 2016
It wasn't until New Year's Day, when he no doubt started the year off on a high for his followers, that he posted a video to his accounts revealing that there would be some new material coming bright and early on Friday (5am GMT if you really wanted an early start!).
Hello 2017... pic.twitter.com/1UyjpgoFbo
— Ed Sheeran (@edsheeran) January 1, 2017
The new release
So far each day of the year has seen Sheeran share a little something with his fans ahead of this week's big release. He posted two videos, one with the words "When I was six years old I broke my leg..." and the other reading, "The club isn't the best place to find a lover..." teasing both of the new tracks he debuted.
When I was six years old I broke my leg... pic.twitter.com/IDIoHf5h8b
— Ed Sheeran (@edsheeran) January 3, 2017
The club isn't the best place to find a lover... pic.twitter.com/SKmXJQZilu
— Ed Sheeran (@edsheeran) January 4, 2017
He also tweeted a division symbol, which heralded news of his third album ÷ (Divide). With his first two albums titled + and x, it seemed only fitting that he should follow suit and choose another mathematical symbol for his third studio album. There was some speculation that Ed would go full Beyonce and treat fans to a surprise album on Friday....stranger things have happened.
÷
— Ed Sheeran (@edsheeran) January 5, 2017
The future
So with new music now released – what will Sheeran do next? He was on BBC Radio 1's Breakfast show on Friday and described his new album as "schizophrenic" with "lots of different sounds" and confirmed that an Irish folk group, Beoga, will feature on the record.
One this is certain though, his new album will go straight to the top of the charts and straight into our heads for weeks to come. x spent sixteen weeks at the top of the Irish charts and sold well in excess of 150,000 copies here alone and was certified ten times platinum.
Not only will he rule the airwaves, he's a big fan of live performances... There's still two free concert slots in Croke Park next summer right?
