LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British popstar Ed Sheeran, who recently revealed an upcoming United States (US) tour, will release his latest album Play on Friday.

Play is the 34-year-old singer-songwriter’s eighth studio album and follows more than a decade of stunning global success and smash hits like Shape of You and Perfect.

He released his last album, Autumn Variations, in 2023.

Known for blending pop, folk and other musical genres with his own distinct acoustic style, Sheeran is the sixth most-streamed artist on Spotify and his 2017 song Shape of You is among the most listened-to tracks in the world.

Sheeran said he made his latest album “as a direct response to the darkest period of my life” and that he wanted to “create joy and technicolour”.

It was recorded “all over the world” before wrapping up in the coastal state of Goa in India.

Speaking on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon earlier this year, the singer revealed that his next four albums would be called Pause, Rewind, Fast-Forward and Stop.

They follow his mathematically themed albums Plus, Multiply, Divide, Subtract and Equals.

Sheeran, who grew up in eastern England, said earlier this week that he is set to move to the US with his family due to an upcoming tour there, without specifying the dates.

After a flurry of headlines that he was permanently leaving the United Kingdom (UK), he then clarifed in an Instagram post that it was a temporary relocation.

“I’m not moving, I’m going on tour with my family and relocating to the continent I’m touring on, don’t wanna commute from London to San Diego obvz,” he posted.

Sheeran also insisted “this isn’t a tax thing”, adding he would “always pay tax in UK”.

He is scheduled to play at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas on September 20 before touring Europe, New Zealand and Australia from December into March 2026.