Ed Sheeran officially returns with his new single ‘Bad Habits’ (available now across all DSPs) which is joined by the Dave Meyers-directed official video .
Spending the last few years out of the spotlight following his record-breaking two-year Divide tour and the arrival of his first daughter, Ed Sheeran marks his official return with the euphoric ‘Bad Habits’. Sheeran is an artist who motors on nonconformity, with today’s release landing as something unexpected yet wholly his; a testament to a forward-thinking artist who continues to push his art into new dimensions. Deploying an up-tempo, summery sonic alongside his treasured guitar, and a track that channels escapist energy, Ed co-wrote and co-produced ‘Bad Habits’ with long-time collaborators, Johnny McDaid (‘Shape of You’) and FRED (No.6 Collaborations Project).
In the accompanying official video – directed by Dave Meyers (Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar) – we see Ed as we’ve never seen him before as he depicts an alter-ego vampire character. Trading his distinct ginger hair for bleached white and his teeth for fangs, the dark-humour narrative serves as a metaphor for ‘bad habits’ as Ed embarks on a wild night out alongside his crew of ghouls before morphing back to his real self the next morning, ginger hair intact, as the sun rises over him. The official video made its global broadcast premiere on MTV Live/MTVU/MTV’s global network of channels today and was also trailed on ViacomCBS Times Square billboard.
Ed Sheeran says – “Feels great to be back with my new single. I wanted the video for Bad Habits to play on the nature of habits in a fantastical way so I decided on vampires. It was mega fun getting into character except for the heights (that wasn’t so fun). Enjoy x”
To celebrate the release, tonight, Ed will be performing live from Ipswich Town’s Portman Road for TikTok’s UEFA Euro 2020 show. Directed by Ed’s long-term collaborator, Emil Nava, and streaming globally on TikTok (@edsheeran) from 9pm BST, the upcoming set will include a host of fan favourites in addition to Ed’s first-ever live performance of ‘Bad Habits’.
‘Bad Habits’ is Sheeran’s first official release since 2019’s UK No.1, ‘No.6 Collaborations Project’. A long-play side project that ran independently of his album sequence, it saw Ed join forces with a number of his favourite music artists – a staggering 22 of them, in fact – including Cardi B, Bruno Mars, Camila Cabello, Eminem and Travis Scott. In just a matter of weeks, the project reaped three UK No.1 singles in ‘I Don’t Care’ with Justin Bieber, ‘Beautiful People’ feat. Khalid and ‘Take Me Back To London’ feat. Stormzy.
Last month, Ed topped the bill of Radio 1’s Big Weekend with an exclusive full band performance, filmed at Snape Maltings, Suffolk. During the same month, he was also unveiled as the new shirt sponsor for the men’s and women’s first teams of his beloved Ipswich Town Football Club.
Ed Sheeran is currently recording his new album.
