Ed Sheeran announces release date for new album ‘–’

WASHINGTON: British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran has announced his fifth studio album, ‘–’, and it will delve into his personal journey through "fear, depression and anxiety."

According to Variety, an American media company, pronounced "subtract," the acoustic album, releasing on May 5, will conclude his mathematical album era, which began over a decade ago with '+'.

The album was produced and composed with Aaron Dessner of the National, and it follows his most recent release, 'F64' which came out on January 19 and was dedicated to his buddy and SBTV founder Jamal Edwards, who died last year at the age of 31.

"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," Sheeran said in a statement, reported Variety.

Sheeran claimed that working on the album helped him deal with the health issues that his pregnant wife was experiencing, Edwards' passing, and defending his creative integrity in court: "I wrote without thought of what the songs would be, I just wrote whatever tumbled out."

The Grammy-winning artist's previous studio album '=' dropped on October 29, 2021, featuring hits 'Shivers', 'Bad Habits', and '2Step'.

His Camila Cabello collaboration 'Bam Bam', which released on March 4, 2022, was nominated for the pop duo at the 2023 Grammys. He is currently on his worldwide Mathematics Tour, as per Variety.