Ed Sheeran's fourth album = came out on Friday (October 29) but unfortunately the pop star wasn't awake to celebrate. After announcing he tested positive for COVID-19 last weekend, Sheeran revealed that his symptoms have been "pretty gnarly" and he decided to get some much needed sleep on the eve of his album release.
“The beginning of the week was pretty gnarly but I just drunk a lot of water and slept a lot and had all the vitamins that the doctor told me to have,” he told BBC Radio 2's Zoe Ball. “But yeah, it’s the first time I didn’t stay up for an album release. I tried and then I was just like, ‘You know what I need some sleep.'”
“I went to bed and got a good night’s sleep and I was up bright and early,” he added, noting that he believes he's “getting to the other side” of the illness now.
Though he was unable to celebrate the launch of =, Sheeran did share a social media post to commemorate its release. "This is my favorite album I’ve made, I’m so proud of it," he wrote. "Thank you to all the wonderful people who worked on it with me. To the fans, I hope you love it as much I do, it’s been a long journey to this point."
Since he's been stuck at home, the singer-songwriter found creative ways to promote the album, like surprising fans with a virtual meeting. Last month, he unveiled European and UK dates for his Mathematics Tour, which you can check out here.