Watch Ed Sheeran debut nostalgic new song ‘Old Phone’ on ‘Fallon’
He has also confirmed that his new album will indeed be titled 'Play' The post Watch Ed Sheeran debut nostalgic new song ‘Old Phone’ on ‘Fallon’ appeared first on NME.
Ed Sheeran had debuted a new song on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon – check it out below.
Sheeran appeared on a recent episode of The Tonight Show, where he he spoke about his upcoming album – which after weeks of teasing, he has now confirmed will be titled ‘Play’.
During his appearance, Sheeran partially premiered a new song, titled ‘Old Phone’, on acoustic guitar. Speaking on the track, he revealed the song was inspired by his 2016 lawsuit over claims of copyright infringement.
He explained to Fallon: “I was in that lawsuit a couple of years ago and in the lawsuit, they order you to give up all your old devices. So I handed everything in, but I moved to a tablet in 2015 just on e-mail. I switched my phone off 2015 and left it in a box. And then, when I went through that lawsuit, I got my phone out again and had to go through like all the voice notes and the pictures and all that stuff for the lawyers.”
He went on to describe the experience as “going into a time machine.” When he went through the phone, he came across text messages from two friends who had since died, an argument with an ex-girlfriend, and correspondence with an estranged family member he hadn’t spoken to in a decade: “It really, really spun me out.”
Check out the performance below.
Speaking on ‘Play’ – which has yet to receive a release date – Sheeran said that his next string of albums will be influenced by controls on record plays. Where his previous collection of albums was inspired by mathematical symbols (‘Plus’, ‘Multiply’, ‘Divide’, ‘Subtract’ and ‘Equals’), his next collection should include titles like ‘Pause’, ‘Fast Forward’, ‘Rewind’ and ‘Stop’.
He also suggested that he’s already planning for a posthumous release, that will contain songs written through several decades of his life and will be released upon his death. He joked that the album could be called ‘Eject’. He first hinted at the posthumous album in 2023 and said that it’s a “continuous work”.
Earlier this month, Sheeran confirmed that work on ‘Play’ is “done” and that an official single will be arriving “soon”. The update follows a surprise set on the streets of New Orleans, where he was joined by a brass band and initially debuted the new song.
Meanwhile, the singer previously revealed that a new song called ‘Sapphire’ would be released in the coming months. He took to social media to respond to a fan who asked which song of his he should play at his wedding, saying: “Depends when you’re getting married, coz there’s a fair few new options coming soon”.
The hints about new music come as Sheeran ended 2024 by revealing that he had already finished his next record. “It feels like I’m getting back into big pop for the first time in a long time,” he explained of the LP’s sound.
This came after Sheeran said last May that he had made some new material, but was waiting a little longer to share it. He told fans: “I released two records on tour last year and it’s quite a lot being on tour and releasing records. So, I’ve made the new music and I’m just going to sit on it for a bit.”
The forthcoming album will mark his first since 2023’s ‘Autumn Variations’, which marked the follow-up to the hit release ‘-‘ (‘Subtract’). The latter was said to be the final entry into Sheeran’s long-running mathematical-themed series.
The post Watch Ed Sheeran debut nostalgic new song ‘Old Phone’ on ‘Fallon’ appeared first on NME.
