Recommended tracks: “Camera,” “The Vow,” “Freedom”
Artist you might like: Sam Smith, Taylor Swift, Shawn Mendes
Ed Sheeran makes a Play to reclaim his pop throne — and he succeeds. It’s 2025, but suddenly I’m back in 2015; cue the teenage dream nostalgia. He seems more intent than ever on reminding us why he’s stayed at the heart of pop for over a decade. It’s about time someone hit the refresh button on pop music, shifting us back to the mid-2010s with the irresistible melodies and catchy hooks that made us obsess over pop a decade ago.
The “Shape of You” singer launched Play into action with the first single, “Azizam,” in April, followed by “Old Phone” in May, and “Sapphire” in June. The singles were met with high praise, consistently charting in the top 10 across multiple international markets.
When you are already at the top, how do you raise the bar even higher? Sheeran confronts his decade-long reign in pop right off the bat with “Opening,” sizing up his legacy while bracing for whatever (or whoever) comes next, using a mix of bravado and quiet reflection. Meanwhile, “Symmetry” practically begs for a remix, making it a prime candidate for DJs to spin into club anthems. The pop-R&B “Heaven” features echoey vocals that scratch your brain in all the right places to explore the serenity you find in being with the person you love.
It wouldn’t be an Ed Sheeran album without at least one or two ballads — and once again, he delivers. There’s something about the way he captures huge emotions without tipping into cliché. “Camera” feels like the perfect sequel to “Photograph,” carrying the same familiar warmth and feeling of stumbling onto a memory you never want to lose. With beautifully romantic lines like “You think you don’t have beauty and abundance, but you do” and “I’ll remember how you look tonight for all my life,” “Camera” has definitely been added to the running of THE wedding song of 2025.
That same emotional honesty carries into “The Vow,” which captures a love that is gentle and lasting — a true reflection of resilience and devotion through time. It’s the type of love that doesn’t need to shout to be heard and is built to last. The singer-songwriter is only 34 years old and is already sitting pretty as one of the most gifted songwriters of the century.
Family is at the heart of everything Sheeran creates. The outpouring of love doesn’t stop at his wife, but continues on to his daughters. “For Always” is intimate without being overly sentimental, grounded in the small truths of parenthood. His role as a father has added new depth into his songwriting, as heard in lyrics like, “Sometimes the stars will guide you better than I can / And you’ll close your eyes, holdin’ another’s hand / Your skin, your hair, your world will change / You will trust someone, your heart will break / I will be the constant that remains.”
The 34-year-old desperately clings to what keeps him sane on “Freedom.” In a stripped-down arrangement, Sheeran wrestles with the pressure of fame, showcasing a side of himself that’s relatable and human, even with all the success he’s had. Sheeran could have played it safe, but instead, it’s almost as if he tore pages from his journal and tossed them to us.
Keep up with Ed Sheeran: Website // Instagram // Facebook // X // YouTube
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