Play (Pink Vinyl)

Global superstar Ed Sheeran has announced that his highly-anticipated new album, Play, will arrive everywhere on September 12th via Gingerbread Man Records/Atlantic Records. To mark the occasion, Sheeran has released “Old Phone,” available now.

After closing the chapter on his Mathematics series, Sheeran is finally back and stepping boldly into a fresh new phase for 2025. An artist known for constantly evolving, Sheeran’s latest album Play finds him exploring new musical ground through collaboration with producers and musicians from around the world, as well as diving deeper into the timeless sounds and themes that have made him one of the world’s best-loved pop artists. Inspired in part by his exposure to Indian and Persian musical cultures – and their surprising connections to the Irish folk tradition he grew up with, through shared scales, rhythms, and melodies – he explored this borderless musical language, giving the album its distinctive, fresh edge. On more familiar ground, Sheeran also reminds us why he remains the most influential singer-songwriter of his generation, delivering a series of stunning ballads and acoustic-driven songs. The result is a collection that plays with both the familiar and the new, creating a bold, pop-driven sound that only Ed Sheeran could deliver – a vibrant showcase of his artistry that feels both exciting and transformative, and promises to be one of the defining albums of the year.

“Play was an album that was made as a direct response to the darkest period of my life,” Sheeran states. “Coming out of all of that I just wanted to create joy and technicolor, and explore cultures in the countries I was touring. I made this record all over the world, finished it in Goa, India, and had the most fun, explorative creative days of my life. It’s a real rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish, it encapsulates everything that I love about music, and the fun in it, but also where I am in life as a human, a partner, a father. Going into this album campaign I said to myself ‘I just want everything I do to be fun and playful’ – so that’s why we are building pubs for folk jams, doing gigs on open top buses and singing in pink cowboy hats on bars. The older I get the more I just want to enjoy things, and savour the moments that are mad and chaotic. You can preorder Play now, many many more playful things to come before it’s out x”

After the release of his technicolor pop hit “Azizam,” Sheeran gets nostalgic on his new song, “Old Phone,” narrating the disorienting act of reconnecting with his past. Powering up an old phone unused since 2015, he unearths messages from a lost friend, an argument with an ex, and distant family, highlighting how time and separation reshape identity. Blending nostalgic acoustic melodies with raw emotion, the song – produced by Blake Slatkin & Ilya Salmanzadeh – recalls Ed’s early songwriting roots while exploring growth and memory, capturing an artist that is shaped and transformed by his past.

Earlier this week, Sheeran announced the release of “Old Phone” by launching @teddysoldphone, an Instagram account featuring never before seen photos from Ed’s actual old phone, which he stopped using in 2015, before moving solely to email. Ed has been teasing the track over the past few weeks, including an impromptu performance of the song on the Tonight Show couch while chatting with Jimmy Fallon, as part of his set at his pop up pub during Coachella, and most recently playing it as a duet with Noah Kahan at Santa’s Pub in Nashville.