Ed Sheeran dropped a new dancey, Persian-inspired song, “Azizam,” on Thursday, the first single off his upcoming eighth album Play.
The musician released the new single alongside an attached “Pink Heart” video featuring footage shot across the United States “whilst promoting the song this month,” he explained in a teaser on Instagram. In the caption of the post, he also promised an “official” music video but did not confirm when it would be released.
Ilyah Salmanzadeh (whose worked with Ariana Grande, Charli XCX and Tate McRae) produced the song, and he and Sheeran made the song when the producer “suggested trying out making music inspired by his Persian heritage and culture,” Sheeran shared on Instagram. “Azizam” is a term of endearment that means “my dear.”
During a March appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the four-time Grammy winner spoke about the new song and announced the title of his forthcoming album as Play. Sheeran explained that the name of the record elaborates on the titles of his previous albums — while also seemingly confirming the upcoming names of his still-unannounced future records.
“When I was like 18, I had an idea for 10 albums and it was Plus, Multiply, Divide, Subtract, Equals, and then Play, Pause, Rewind, Fast Forward and Stop,” he said, noting that the 10-record format was inspired by Quentin Tarantino’s plan to make 10 films and retire.
It’s unclear when Play will be released, though Sheeran’s last album, Autumn Variations, was dropped in 2023 and landed at No. 4 on Billboard’s 200 Albums chart. While he hasn’t dropped an album since then, he’s been busy on his ongoing Mathematics Tour, which kicked off in April 2022 in Dublin and will close out later this year in September in Düsseldorf.