AceShowbiz - Following the massive successes of 2011's "Plus", 2014's "Multiply", 2017's "Divide", and 2021's "Equals", it's only fitting for Ed Sheeran to put out a new album titled "Substract". He wholeheartedly put his energy and emotions into the record, reflecting on the ordeals he went through in the last couple of years since "Equals".

A moving track titled "Eyes Closed" and inspired by his real pain served as a lead single. It's a metaphor for Ed's heartache after the ginger-haired singer lost his close friends Jamal Edwards and Shane Warne within weeks of each other in 2022.

"Every time something massive happened, I just wrote about it," he said. "This song is about losing someone, feeling like every time you go out and you expect to just bump into them, and everything just reminds you of them and things you did together."

The song peaked at the top spot on the singles chart in his home country. As the "Subtract" release date is coming closer, it gains new traction, reaching No. 8 on the hot adult contemporary listing and breaking into the top 15 on adult contemporary.

Its follow-up called "Boat" with its accompanying music video which sees the Grammy-winning musician on the beach braving violent waves after waves has equally emotional lyrics about "the struggles of feeling very low and not knowing how to break the cycle."

For his latest studio offering expected to be the final iteration of his math-themed album series, Ed also penned "No Strings" about his "unbreakable bond" with his wife Cherry Seaborn who was diagnosed with tumor while she was pregnant with their second child.

He explained about his inspiration, "2022 was a year of lots of things happening with me and my family and I sort of said to my wife, 'If we can get through this, it's a breeze from here. Anything can happen from here and we're good.' "