Ed Sheeran confirms release date for hotly anticipated new album, Divide

Sheeran said the album will he his "best work to date"
Confirmed: Ed Sheeran is preparing to release his third album
Phil Walter/Getty Images
Emma Powell12 January 2017
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Ed Sheeran has put fans out of their misery by confirming the release date for his hugely anticipated new album.

The 25-year-old singer – who made his musical return last week – revealed that ÷ (Divide) will drop on March 3.

Speaking about his third album, Sheeran hailed it as his “best work to date”.

He said: “First off, what a week! The reaction to my new singles has been absolutely mind-blowing and I can’t thank you enough.

Artwork: Ed Sheeran has unveiled the album cover for Divide

“My new album ÷ holds a very special place in my heart and I really believe this is my best work to date.

“I’ve been eager to get back and I couldn’t be more excited for March 3rd.”

Track titles include New Man, Happier, Galway Girl, Eraser and Supermarket Flowers.

The news comes days after he surprised fans by dropping two new singles: Castle on the Hill and Shape of You.

Ed Sheeran - In pictures

Ed Sheeran Mathematics Tour
1/57

The tracks broke streaming records with over 13 million combined streams in 24 hours.

Shape of You also dethroned Adele’s single Hello to take the record for the most Spotify streams in a day with over 7.9 million.

Sheeran recently revealed that he went on a strict fitness regime to get back into shape for his comeback after putting on three stone during his hiatus after feeding on pizza and beer.

Speaking to Total Access on Signal 1 radio he said: “I didn’t realise how active I was on tour.

“My diet was pizza and beer, but because I was doing two hours a night I was really in shape.

“I stopped touring and carried on my diet of pizza and beer. Suddenly I didn’t fit in anything.”

He continued: “I did ten minutes a day without fail – intervals of 30 seconds sprinting and 30 jogging.

“The key is to not miss a day, so you don’t have to do an hour.”

Follow @StandardEnts or like us on Facebook for more entertainment news.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in