MUMBAI: Nearly two years after releasing Autumn Variations, Ed Sheeran is gearing up for his eighth studio album. The English singer recently teased a snippet of the album’s lead single, “Azizam,” in an Instagram post where he’s seen dancing alongside producer Ilya Salmanzadeh.

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“Album done. Single soon,” Sheeran captioned the post, sharing his excitement but keeping the release date under wraps.

“Azizam” features an upbeat dance rhythm with hints of Persian influence, reflected in its title-a Persian term of endearment meaning “my dear.”

This marks Sheeran’s first album since 2023, when he dropped Autumn Variations, which reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart. Earlier that year, he also released – (Subtract), the final chapter in his mathematics-themed album series that includes +, x, ÷, and =. In late 2023, he contributed “Under the Tree” to the Netflix Christmas film That Christmas.

The new single arrives as Sheeran continues his expansive Mathematics Tour, which has already taken him to Bhutan, India, and China in 2025. After a brief pause since March 2, the tour resumes on April 30 in Qatar and will wrap up on September 7 in Düsseldorf, Germany, after covering much of Europe.

“It was time to stop,” Sheeran reflected when announcing the tour’s final leg last summer, adding, “But then we can press play.”