Ed Sheeran delighted fans late Thursday by revealing that his new single “Bad Habits” will drop on June 25.
“I’ve been working away in the studio over recent months and I can’t wait for you to hear 'Bad Habits,'" the singer said, in a release. "I always aim to push myself and my music in new directions and hopefully you’ll hear that on the new single. Feels great to be back!"
Sheeran will perform “Bad Habits” for the first time during the UEFA Euro 2020 show on TikTok on June 25 at 4 p.m. EDT. (It will repeat June 26 and July 9.)
In his Instagram Stories, Sheeran shared photos of billboard projections promoting the song's release. A pair of posts show the singer dressed as a vampire for the “Bad Habits” video, which was directed by Dave Meyers.
It is the singer’s first solo single in four years and comes exactly 18 months after he announced he was “gonna take a breather.” On Christmas Eve 2019, Sheeran told fans: “I promise to be back with some new music when the time is right and I’ve lived a little more to actually have something to write about.”
Sheeran and his wife Cherry welcomed daughter Lyra last September.
Last month, he described “Bad Habits” as “really different – like, really, really different.” He told BBC Radio 1: “Every time I’ve released a first single from an album I’ve been nervous about it because I’m like, ‘I don’t know how this is going to go’ and I like that feeling.
“I could just release a ‘Thinking Out Loud’ or a ‘Castle on the Hill’ or something that is safe but for me, I like the idea of putting out something and being like, ‘I don’t know how people are going to feel about this.’”
He also hinted that a tour announcement is imminent when he let it slip that he has deferred his executive box for next season’s Ipswich Town F.C. matches until after the tour. (In early May, Ipswich Town F.C. announced that Sheeran signed on as next season’s shirt sponsor.) The team’s 2021/22 season begins in July.