Ed Sheeran is set to release his new album ‘-‘ (Subtract) – the last in his decade-spanning mathematical album era – on 5 May 2023 through Asylum / Atlantic.

An album that revisits Ed’s singer / songwriter roots, and one that was written against a backdrop of personal grief and hope, ‘-’ (Subtract) presents one of the biggest stars on the planet at his most vulnerable and honest.

In Ed’s own words; “I had been working on Subtract for a decade, trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album, writing and recording hundreds of songs with a clear vision of what I thought it should be. Then at the start of 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art.

Writing songs is my therapy. It helps me make sense of my feelings. I wrote without thought of what the songs would be, I just wrote whatever tumbled out. And in just over a week, I replaced a decade’s worth of work with my deepest darkest thoughts.

Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumour, with no route to treatment until after the birth. My best friend Jamal, a brother to me, died suddenly and I found myself standing in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter. I was spiralling through fear, depression and anxiety.

I felt like I was drowning, head below the surface, looking up but not being able to break through for air.

As an artist I didn’t feel like I could credibly put a body of work into the world that didn’t accurately represent where I am and how I need to express myself at this point in my life. This album is purely that. It’s opening the trapdoor into my soul. For the first time I’m not trying to craft an album people will like, I’m merely putting something out that’s honest and true to where I am in my adult life.

This is last February’s diary entry and my way of making sense of it. This is Subtract.”

Since he first learnt ‘Layla’ by Eric Clapton on guitar at the age of 12-years-old, Sheeran’s love of the singer / songwriter began.

Growing up with the likes of Damian Rice, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan playing on repeat in his parents’ house, artists that his dad, John, introduced him to, ‘-‘ was always on Ed’s horizon. Yet as the songs and writing process took on a whole new meaning and direction after a series of hard-hitting events impacted Ed’s world in 2022, one thing that remained untouched was his strong desire to make a record anchored in his love of singer / songwriter compositions.

And now, as he gears-up for the release of his most soul-baring work to date, ‘-‘ serves as a timely reminder for why Sheeran remains one of the most gifted lyricists of his generation; an artist who breaks down his own experiences for fans to seek comfort and belonging.

‘-‘ is the result of Sheeran pushing the boundaries of his songcraft, as he delivers the most profound songwriting of his career. Teaming-up with Aaron Dessner (The National) on writing and production after the pair joined forces following an introduction from mutual friend Taylor Swift, Ed and Aaron began crafting the album in February last year. Writing over 30 songs during their month-long studio stint, the album’s fourteen tracks are seamlessly tied together by exquisite production from paired back, folk-leaning textures to bolder, full-band/orchestral arrangements.

Ed Sheeran burst onto the UK music scene in 2011 with his debut album ‘+’.

Rapidly establishing himself as a history-making artist, he followed with ‘x’, ‘÷’, ‘No.6 Collaborations Project’ and ‘=’ – a catalogue that has seen Sheeran become one of the world’s biggest musical success stories of the 21st century.

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Global megastar Ed Sheeran has unveiled the official tracklisting for his NO.6 COLLABORATIONS PROJECT, confirmed for release on 12 July via Asylum/Atlantic. The 15-track LP, that includes 22 collaborators, will feature an all-star cast of Sheeran’s favourite artists including Cardi B, Camila Cabello, Khalid, Eminem, Travis Scott, Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars, Stormzy and many more! The full tracklisting can be found below.

Ed Sheeran says – “I’m a huge fan of all of the artists I worked with on the album. Whether I’ve been following them since the beginning of their careers, or had their albums on repeat, they’re artists that inspire me and all bring something special to each track. Can’t wait for you to hear it!”

The tracklisting news follows the release of Sheeran’s global hits ‘I Don’t Care’ with Justin Bieber and ‘Cross Me’ feat. Chance the Rapper and PnB Rock – the tracks, which have amassed over 750 million global streams to date, both feature on the upcoming release. Already one of the biggest hits of the year, ‘I Don’t Care’ secured its fifth consecutive week at No.1 in the UK’s Official Singles Chart last Friday.

‘No.6 Collaborations Project’ Tracklisting:

1. Beautiful People feat. Khalid
2. South of the Border feat. Camila Cabello & Cardi B
3. Cross Me feat. Chance the Rapper and PnB Rock
4. Take Me Back to London feat. Stormzy
5. Best Part of Me feat. Yebba
6. I Don’t Care with Justin Bieber
7. Antisocial with Travis Scott
8. Remember the Name feat. Eminem & 50 Cent
9. Feels feat. Young Thug & J Hus
10. Put It All on Me feat. Ella Mai
11. Nothing on You feat. Paulo Londra & Dave
12. I Don’t Want Your Money feat. H.E.R
13. 1000 Nights feat. Meek Mill & A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie
14. Way to Break My Heart feat. Skrillex
15. Blow with Bruno Mars & Chris Stapleton

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Ed Sheeran shared the news with fans last night via his socials – “Before I was signed in 2011, I made an EP called No.5 Collaborations Project. Since then, I’ve always wanted to do another, so I started No.6 on my laptop when I was on tour last year. I’m a huge fan of all the artists I’ve collaborated with and it’s been a lot of fun to make. It’s available to pre-order now and my song with Chance the Rapper and PnB Rock will be out everywhere at the same time x”

The news of ED’S NO.6 COLLABORATIONS PROJECT and his brand new Chance the Rapper and PnB Rock collaboration follows the release of ‘I Don’t Care’ with Justin Bieber, which has sat atop the iTunes and Spotify charts in New Zealand since release.

No.6 Collaborations Project will be out everywhere on 12th of July, 2019.

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Bryan Adams announces his brand-new album, Shine A Light out March 1st 2019 on Polydor Records. The album will be available across all physical formats, including vinyl and on all digital platforms.

The album title will be the lead single from the record, which will get its worldwide premiere on BBC Radio 2, January 17th 2019 and will then be available to stream across all streaming platforms.

Co-written with singer / songwriter Ed Sheeran, the lead single is a great pop-rock opener to the new album. Says Adams on the song “I met Ed in Dublin this year at one of his shows and we kept in touch. One day I sent him a chorus I had for a song idea I had called ‘Shine A Light’ and asked him if he was interested in collaborating on it. I got a couple of verses back a few days later, and man you should hear him sing it!”

“I’m thrilled to be releasing this new 12-track studio album, which has a good blend of rock and pop and R&B.The new album will also feature a duet with American popstar Jennifer Lopez on the future classic “That’s How Strong Our Love Is”. “Working with Jennifer was a dream, our voices sound amazing together.” says Adams.

To coincide with the new album release, Bryan Adams will be heading out on a ‘Shine A Light’ World Tour. 

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After three NZ #1 singles, two NZ #1 albums and 25 years together, the iconic Boyzone will release their final album THANK YOU & GOODNIGHT on November the 16th, 2018.

Ronan, Keith, Mikey and Shane have shared their thoughts on their journey below:

“When we started out as five young Dublin Northsiders, eager to face the world, we never imagined that we’d still have an army of fans some twenty-five years later… If you’d seen our famous first TV appearance on The Late Late Show, you’d probably be surprised too!

But what followed was the stuff of dreams. We’ve played stadiums and arenas all over the world, released six albums, and had almost two-dozen hits. We really can’t put into words just how much you, the fans, have supported us along the way. Without that support, we would have never achieved what we have, and for that we’re eternally grateful.

We’ve had some tough times too. The loss of Stephen left scars that we will carry as a band forever. We were immensely touched by all the tributes and messages of support that helped us through the dark days. Stephen was our brother and will always be at the very the heart of Boyzone.

25 years is a long time. We’re certainly not boys anymore, and we all feel that we should now call time on our lives together as Boyzone and go out on a real high.

This November we will be releasing our final album, THANK YOU & GOODNIGHT. We’ve recorded 12 brand new tracks that we hope you’ll enjoy listening to as much as we’ve enjoyed making them.

We’re especially excited to share a very special tribute to Stephen in the shape of a new song, ‘I Can Dream.’ We came across a demo that he originally recorded for his solo album in 2002 and we’ve had the opportunity to re-work the song and add our harmonies alongside his lead vocal. It was a bittersweet experience to hear all our voices together again. It’s the closest the five of us will ever get to being in a room together again making music.

And we’re also eager to invite you all to one final celebration of 25 years of Boyzone and our journey together. We know this love’s forever. That’s all that matters, no matter what…”

THANK YOU & GOODNIGHT finds Boyzone collaborating with some very special guest songwriters in the shape of Ed Sheeran (‘Because’) and Gary Barlow (‘Love’). Producers on the album include Xenomania’s Toby Scott, John Shanks (Take That, Westlife), young Swedish hitmakers Goldfingers and Steve Soloman (James Arthur, Jason Mraz).

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Ed Sheeran’s record-breaking Divide World Tour begins this week! Hitting Auckland and Dunedin for six stadium shows, the tour is the biggest in Australasian history.

To celebrate, Warner Music New Zealand today announces two exclusive pop-up stores and kombi in Auckland and Dunedin. These pop-ups have exclusive New Zealand merch only available at the kombi and online for a limited time.

At the pop-up stores, take a photo in the Ed Sheeran-themed Kombi and enter the draw to win a grand prize to see Ed perform at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles later this year – flights and accommodation included. You can also win tickets to the Auckland and Dunedin shows as well as spot prizes throughout the day, thanks to Spark and Spotify.

The record breaking, 6x Platinum, ÷ (DIVIDE) was the highest selling album of 2017 in New Zealand, boasting the  5x Platinum Shape Of You , the 3x Platinum Castle on the Hill, the 3x Platinum Perfect, and the 2x Platinum Galway Girl .

The tour this March / April (2018) is the biggest stadium tour of Australia and New Zealand since Dire Straits in 1986. Limited tickets all shows just been released.

The Ed Sheeran Divide Pop-Up stores will be located in Auckland and Dunedin.

ED SHEERAN ‘DIVIDE’ POP-UP STORES LOCATIONS AND DATES

AUCKLAND: Takutai Square Atrium

44 Galway St (see what we did there)

Friday 23^rd March

11am – 6pm

DUNEDIN: The Octagon

Thursday 29^th March

11am–6pm

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Spotify can reveal that Ed Sheeran is New Zealand’s most streamed artist of 2017 and remains the #1 most streamed artist on Spotify with 47 million monthly listeners globally.

Ed Sheeran’s ÷ (Divide) was the most streamed album of the year, both in New Zealand and worldwide, with 3.1 billion streams globally, while ‘Shape of You’ became the most streamed track of all time on Spotify, now with over 1.4 billion streams globally.

“Ed Sheeran absolutely dominated this year with the release of his record-breaking album, Divide,” said Stefan Blom, Spotify’s Chief Content Officer. “There is no doubt that 2017 was The Year of Ed Sheeran, and we are thrilled that so many millions of music fans have discovered, listened to, and shared his music on Spotify. Congratulations to Ed on an amazing achievement.”

Despite Ed Sheeran’s huge success this year, Hip Hop continues to play a major role in music listening in New Zealand and around the world. Overall, Hip Hop listening increased 74% over the past year globally, according to Spotify data – a significant increase, particularly considering Hip Hop’s popularity in 2016. Closer to home, rappers Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem and Chris Brown make up four of New Zealand’s top five most-streamed artists, proving just how popular rap and hip hop is locally.

Globally, it was also a landmark year for Latin music – listening increased by 110%, with two Latin tracks hitting #1 on Spotify for the first time: ‘Despacito’ and ‘Mi Gente’, as well as 10 Latin songs appearing on Spotify’s Global Top 50.

Check out the full breakdown below of this year’s rankings and musical trends and head to spotify.com/2017 for the top playlists of 2017, Year in Music playlists, videos, and more.

And, in addition to Spotify’s Year in Music top lists, visitors can check out their own personalised list of their most-streamed artists and songs this year by visiting 2017wrapped.com.

SPOTIFY’S NEW ZEALAND’S YEAR IN MUSIC 2017

Ed Sheeran was both New Zealand’s and the world’s most streamed artist with over 6.3 billion streams this year, dethroning Drake who took the top spot in 2015 and 2016. In fact, Drake is the only top 5 artist carried over from last year, with Ed Sheeran, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar and The Chainsmokers all new to the top 5 list of artists this year.

All data below is based on most streamed in New Zealand for 2017.

Ed Sheeran

Most Streamed Artists

1. Ed Sheeran

2. Drake

3. Kendrick Lamar

4. Eminem

5. Chris Brown

Most Streamed Females

1. Rihanna

2. Lorde

3. Adele

4. Taylor Swift

5. Alessia Cara

Most Streamed New Zealand Artists

Lorde

Taking out New Zealand’s most streamed local artist of 2017 is Lorde, who released her sophomore album, Melodrama, in June 2017. It was a big year for drum and bass, dub, roots and reggae with Six60, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Katchafire and Shapeshifter rounding out New Zealand’s top five most streamed New Zealand artists of 2017.

1. Lorde

2. Six60

3. Fat Freddy’s Drop

4. Katchafire

5. Shapeshifter

Most Streamed New Zealand tracks

1. Green Light – Lorde

2. Liability – Lorde

3. Homemade Dynamite – REMIX – Lorde

4. Perfect Places – Lorde

5. Don’t Give It Up – Six60
   
   

Most Streamed Tracks

1. Shape of You – Ed Sheeran

2. Despacito – Remix – Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber

3. HUMBLE. – Kendrick Lamar

4. Castle on the Hill – Ed Sheeran

5. I’m the One – DJ Khaled

Most Streamed Albums

1. Divide – Ed Sheeran

2. DAMN. – Kendrick Lamar

3. Stoney – Post Malone

4. More Life – Drake

5. Starboy – The Weeknd

Spotify’s Global Year in Music for 2017

• Most Streamed Artists

1. Ed Sheeran

2. Drake

3. The Weeknd

4. Kendrick Lamar

5. The Chainsmokers

• Most Streamed Female Artists

1. Rihanna

2. Taylor Swift

3. Selena Gomez

4. Ariana Grande

5. Sia

• Top Five Breakout Artists

1. Camila Cabello

2. Harry Styles

3. Liam Payne

4. Lil Pump

5. Trippie Redd

• Most Streamed Groups

1. Coldplay

2. Imagine Dragons

3. Maroon 5

4. Linkin Park

5. Migos

• Most Streamed Tracks

1. Shape of You – Ed Sheeran

2. Despacito – Remix – Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber

3. Despacito – Luis Fonsi feat. Daddy Yankee

4. Something Just Like This – The Chainsmokers & Coldplay

5. I’m the One – DJ Khaled feat. Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, Lil Wayne

• Most Streamed Albums

1. Divide – Ed Sheeran

2. More Life – Drake

3. DAMN. – Kendrick Lamar

4. Starboy – The Weeknd

5. Stoney – Post Malone

• Emerging 2017 Genres:

1. Melodic Power Metal

2. Chaotic Black Metal

3. Chillhop

4. Trap Latino

5. Future Funk

6. Jumpstyle

7. Serialism

8. Cinematic Dubstep

9. Vintage Swoon

10. Gamecore

Spotify is the world’s largest and most successful music streaming service of its kind globally, with more than 140 million active users, and over 60 million paying subscribers across 61 markets.

Since its launch in Sweden in 2008, Spotify has driven more than USD $5bn to rights holders and has been largely credited with helping to restore growth to the global music market.

Spotify offers the world’s most personalised music experience and makes it easier than ever before to consume, discover, and share music with friends, instantly, whenever, and wherever you are.

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