Ed Sheeran shares throwback snap with Taylor Swift and reflects on copyright trial in nostalgic Instagram post ahead of releasing 'emotional' new single Old Phone
The singer, 34, has launched a new Instagram account to celebrate his 'emotional' upcoming single Old Phone.
The account features a number of never-before-seen pictures, texts, and lyric notes, and comes ahead of the release of his new single on Thursday April 29.
Ed was inspired to write the new song when revisiting his old phone during the copyright lawsuit around his hit single Thinking Out Loud.
At the time Ed denied he had ripped off Marvin Gaye's soul classic Let's Get it On for his 2014 hit song, and in 2023 was cleared of this in court.
Explaining the new account, Ed penned in a new Instagram post: 'Put the sound on and have a listen. I got rid of my phone 2015, and moved onto email full time. I just turned my phone off December '15 and that was it.
'When I got sued, the judge ordered me to give up my old devices to the other sides lawyers, to look through messages, emails, voice notes, videos, etc, to see if there was anything on there to help their case. In the process, I switched on my old phone.
'The first message was from my friend Jamal Edwards, who had recently passed away. The second was from my ex girlfriend who I hadn't been in contact with for years. The third was a family member I haven't spoken to in a decade. And so on.'
Ed shared pictures with pals including Taylor and the late Jamal Edwards, with the musician admitting looking through the phone made him emotional for a number of reasons.
Ed continued: 'It felt like a time capsule, a time of life that I was in, and living at that time in 2015. Turning it on really spun me out, I found myself scrolling messages and conversations with people who are no longer here.
'I found myself crying at messages to friends who are now dead, who I won't get to speak to again. I found old photos of me with people I was so close to then, but we've lost touch since.
'The whole experience was such an emotional journey. I wrote the song Old Phone on my own at 2am whilst jet lagged in India finishing the album, and recorded it that morning. It feels like a song that should've been on my debut album, but also a song I couldn't have written until I experienced real life things happening to me.'
Speaking on the meaningful new song, Ed added: 'It makes me emotional to sing, I hope it finds some emotion in you too. Maybe it makes you switch on your old phone and have a look at where you were a decade ago too. Whatever it does, I'm glad I wrote it. Old Phone, out Thursday 11am EDT / 4pm BST'
It comes after Ed surprised Londoners with a lunchtime performance outside of King's Cross station.
The singer was dressed in a vibrant pink T-shirt as he set up in front of a backdrop of a large pink heart emblazoned with the word 'Azizam' in white - the name of his new song.
Fans were delighted as Ed played his acoustic guitar and belted out hit songs including Shape Of You, Perfect and Bad Habits.
It followed a morning of promotions for the singer, as he travelled around the capital on a pink double-decker bus to celebrate his upcoming eighth studio album.
It isn't the first time that Ed has surprised commuters with an impromptu performance at a train station.
In November, Ed shocked passers by as they appeared out of a large Sky Broadband platform set up in the train station.
Earlier that day, Ed revealed he had to have an awkward conversation with Elton John about how he often mispronounces his name, even though the two have known each other for 15 years.
Ed joined Capital Breakfast's Jordan North , Chris Stark, and Sian Welby to discuss his new single Azizam, which was released on the same day, as well as his upcoming eighth studio album.
The singer joined Capital Breakfast's Jordan North, Chris Stark, and Sian Welby to discuss his new single Azizam, which was released on the same day, as well as his upcoming album
During the interview, the presenters wanted to know Ed's thoughts on Elton frequently mispronouncing his name and shared a video of Elton doing so.
Kicking off the conversation, Chris said: 'Got to ask you this, right? So we went to Elton John's house this week… We need to settle something. Have a listen to this.
He then played an audio clip of Elton from a Capital interview where he said: 'I mean Ed Sheer-an playing in living rooms.'
Ed laughed and admitted that he previously had an 'awkward conversation' with the music legend to clear up how to pronounce his name.
He explained: 'I've actually had the awkward conversation with him being like 'I've known you for 15 years, it's not Sheer-an' but it's just one of those things. I actually have had that conversation.'
Chris responded: 'You can't argue with him can you.' to which Ed replied: 'Well I can, I can and I do, but, but I don't know it's quite nice…'
Jordan then added: 'It's kind of like when your nan just says something, and you know she said it wrong and you just have to go with it haven't you.'
Admitting that he will always be 'Ed Sheer-an' to Elton, Ed chimed in: 'And it's just his way, it's like how my parents always call me Edward, I'm not Ed to them, always Edward and I'll always be Ed Sheer-an to Elton.'
Elsewhere during the interview, Ed revealed the title of his next single and shared that he plans to release a new song every month until his album is out.
When discussing Azizam and what fans should expect from the upcoming album, Ed said: 'More of the same. It's like more playful. The next song coming out is a bit more classic me.
He continued: 'I guess it's like a sad, acoustic, upbeat. It's called Old Phone which comes out in like a month. Basically, I'm going to be putting out a song pretty much every month till the record comes.'
The Perfect hitmaker will release his eighth studio album, Play, later this year, and has already dropped the album's first single, Azizam, on April 4.
While a specific release date for Play has not yet been announced, Ed has confirmed that the album will be released sometime in 2025.
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