Ed Sheeran’s next album is recorded but it might not be what you’re expecting (Picture: Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag)

For Ed Sheeran fans, 2025 is already shaping up to be a great year with the star not only touring once again but also gearing up to release new music.

The four-time Grammy winner, 33, is mere weeks away from kicking off the fourth leg of his Mathematics Tour, which began in 2022 and is set to end in September next year.

But before he hits the stage, he’s made a very exciting announcement, sharing that he has already recorded his next album and filmed two accompanying music videos.

With his last album, -, also known as Subtract, following a folk-pop, acoustic theme, fans have become used to a slowed-down version of Ed’s music, but the father-of-two has revealed all of that is about to change.

Sitting down to promote his most recent track, Under the Tree, a single for Netflix’s That Christmas film, the hitmaker gave a hint as to what fans can expect from his next album.

‘It feels like I’m getting back into big pop for the first time in a long time,’ Ed told Variety. ‘It’s quite exciting.’

Ed recently released a single for the Netflix film, That Christmas (Picture: Youtube/Planet Photos)

What exactly does this mean? With Ed’s most pop-based album being his 2017 record, ÷, also known as Divide, fans may be treated to tracks similar to Castle on the Hill, Shape of You and Galway Girl.

Other tunes that could give fans an idea of what to expect from Ed’s revived pop era are Don’t and Sing from his 2014 album x, also known as Multiply.

Ed is no stranger to the pop world and even released No.6 Collaborations Project in 2019 where he released an album made entirely of collaborations, most with popstars.

I Don’t Care, featuring Justin Bieber, peaked at number one on the UK Singles Charts and number two on Billboard Hot 100. While South of the Boarder, featuring rapper Cardi B and popstar Camila Cabello, peaked at number three on the UK Singles Charts.

Ed Sheeran has collaborated with some major names in the music industry (Picture: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Jingle Ball 2012)

Ed and Taylor are long-time friends and collaborators (Picture: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Other popular collaborations Ed has done with well-loved pop stars include his close friend Taylor Swift. The duo have worked on multiple songs together over the years, including End Game, Run and perhaps their most famous, Everything Has Changed from Taylor’s 2013 album, Red.

While it’s unknown exactly when Ed’s next album will be released, with the final leg of his Mathematics tour kicking off in Bhutan on January 24 and ending in Germany in September next year, it’s likely fans will be treated to a special performance, or two, of his new material.

Ed’s next album is returning to a more pop-based sound (Picture: Joe Maher/Disasters Emergency Committee/Getty Images for Livewire Pictures Ltd)
The third leg of the tour wrapped in Brazil in September this year, with the star using his much-deserved time off to work on Love Actually director Richard Curtis’ new Netflix animated feature, That Christmas.

Speaking to Variety, Ed said the film was important to him as it was the first time he wrote a ‘sad Christmas song’ explaining: ‘This is quite a lot of people’s realities at Christmas.’

The emotional feature is set in the fictional British town of Wellington-on-Sea, in addition to Ed’s musical expertise, the film features Bill Nighy, Brian Cox Jodie Whittaker and Rhys Darby in voice roles.