Ed Sheeran: What Comes After Subtract?

Closing a chapter: the Subtract era and its resonance

With **Subtract** (2023), Ed Sheeran embarked on one of his most vulnerable and introspective projects. Rather than chasing pop anthems, he pursued a stripped-down, acoustic approach that centred on personal themes—grief, anxiety, identity and healing. That album felt like a quiet reckoning, a conversation with himself rather than a stadium address. It concluded the “maths” series of album titles (Plus, Multiply, Divide, Subtract, Equals) and marked a turning point in how he frames his music.

The spark of reinvention: hints of Play

Even before Subtract’s promotional cycle fully wound down, Sheeran’s next era was already in motion. He has revealed that his upcoming album, **Play**, is his response to that darker period: a deliberate pivot toward joy, sonic expansiveness and cross-cultural textures. He says he “feels like I’m getting back into big pop for the first time in a long time.” Already two music videos are in the can, and more are slated for early 2025. The rollout suggests a confident, high-investment return to more extroverted territory.

Play is due for release in 2025, and early singles like “Azizam” and “Old Phone” have offered glimpses of a sound that leans outward. “Azizam,” with its Persian influences and melodic ambition, and “Old Phone,” with its nostalgic framing, hint at an album that embraces global textures and personal memory in equal measure.

A new creative saga: the albums beyond

Sheeran has disclosed a bold vision: after Play, he plans four more albums titled **Pause**, **Rewind**, **Fast Forward**, and **Stop**-completing a thematic cycle inspired by media controls. In addition, he has floated **Eject** as a posthumous compilation, to be released only after his passing. This multi-album roadmap shows that he’s not just thinking project to project but weaving a long-term narrative around identity, time, memory and expression.

Play is thus not just a reaction to Subtract, but the bridge to what Sheeran imagines as his creative continuum. It promises to balance introspection with expansiveness, intimacy with scale.

What might the sound and themes explore?

Expect Play to reintroduce pop energy without abandoning heart. The early singles suggest he’s exploring fusion—Persian motifs, acoustic textures, intricate rhythm patterns, and layered vocal arrangements. He’s said the album was recorded across multiple countries, and completed in Goa, India-hinting that place and culture will shape the sonic palette.

Thematically, Play seems poised to reflect **renewal** and **celebration**. Whereas Subtract leaned into shadows, this next chapter might explore gratitude, connection, forward motion. It likely won’t abandon emotional depth-but it will do so with the energy of someone actively emerging from introspection.

Early markers: singles, reception and tour plans

“Azizam” debuted in April 2025 and already landed in the UK Top 10. It carries Persian undertones, a bold step for Sheeran into cross-cultural sound. Meanwhile “Old Phone,” released in May 2025, reflects nostalgia and personal memory, drawing from his rediscovered old device and the stories stored within. These tracks demonstrate how he plans to integrate both the reflective and the expansive in his new era.

Play became his eighth studio album, released on 12 September 2025, and secured the top spot on the UK Albums Chart—his ninth consecutive number one. He’s set to support it with the **Loop Tour** (December 2025 – 2026), which will take him through Europe, North America and beyond. The tour underscores how he’s ready to bring Play to life in both stadium arenas and arena settings, leaning into connection and spectacle.

Challenges, possibilities and legacy

Transitions are rarely seamless. The audience that embraced Subtract’s intimacy may overlap only partly with those who want bold pop. Maintaining coherence while expanding sonic territory is a delicate balance. Yet Ed’s track record-melodic instincts, emotional honesty, willingness to experiment-gives him tools to succeed.

If Play delivers both ambition and heart, it could reset how his later chapters are heard: not as detours, but as evolutions. He has framed this next phase as joyful, experimental, outward-looking-and in doing so, he may chart a path for how popular artists navigate the tension between vulnerability and spectacle in a post-pandemic music world.

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