Ed Sheeran plans to release a posthumous album

Virgin Radio

22 Mar 2023, 14:06

Ed Sheeran

Credit: Getty Images

The Shape of You singer has been working on a secret album.

Ed Sheeran has revealed his plans to release an album after his death.

Speaking to Rolling Stone, he explained: “I want to slowly make this album that is quote-unquote ‘perfect’ for the rest of my life, adding songs here and there. And just have it in my will that after I die, it comes out.”

The singer-songwriter has been working on this alongside his latest album - (Subtract), which will be released on 5th May, 2023.

Subtract will discuss the challenges Sheeran has faced in recent years, including the loss of his best friend and music entrepreneur Jamal Edwards, who died aged 31 from a heart attack last year.

“It’s opening the trapdoor into my soul,” described the Perfect singer. “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.”

Sheeran worked on his sixth album with The National’s Aaron Dessner. The pair were introduced by their mutual friend Taylor Swift, who worked with Dessner on her 2020 records, Folklore and Evermore. 

Recalling when they met for dinner in New York, Dessner remembers they “talked at length about music and life”.

“It felt so relaxed and as if we already knew each other”, he said. 

After a few months of writing songs remotely, Sheeran and Dessner met up again in January 2022. They finished over 30 songs in one week, 14 of which will feature on Subtract. 

In an Instagram post about the upcoming LP, Dessner wrote: “I couldn't be more proud of this record and the vulnerability and honesty Ed showed in making these songs with me. 

“There's something deeply vulnerable and ultimately cathartic and therapeutic about shifting sadness and pain and anxiety into music, transforming darkness into light in this way and sharing these sentiments with others,” he added. “This is what "subtract" does so beautifully and I can't wait for you all to hear it.”

Not only has Sheeran been busy working on numerous albums, he also has a new four-part Disney+ docuseries on the way. 

The Sum Of It All, airing on 3rd May, 2023, will take a behind the scenes look at his life and career so far.

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