In Ed Sheeran's new video for "Eyes Closed" a large, blue furry creature follows him around as he tries to live a normal life despite his grief. The song and video are based on Sheeran's personal struggles while putting together the songs for his upcoming album, Subtract.
"When I was thinking of concepts for the 'Eyes Closed' music video, I wanted to make a video inspired by movies like Harvey, where the main character has an imaginary friend who's a giant rabbit that no one can see," Sheeran said in a statement. "There's also a book I read my daughters where sadness is encapsulated by an imaginary creature."
While Sheeran's wife, Cherry Seaborn, successfully delivered the couple's second daughter, Jupiter last May and now has a clean bill of health, Sheeran said the loss of Edwards hit him especially hard. Edwards helped advance his career and British rapper Skepta's via his YouTube channel SB.TV.
"Writing songs is my therapy," Sheeran said. "It helps me make sense of my feelings. I wrote without thought of what the songs would be, I just wrote whatever tumbled out. And in just over a week, I replaced a decade's worth of work with my deepest darkest thoughts."
Subtract is due out May 5. It's the last of Sheeran's Mathematics series. He's supporting it with a world tour that goes through Sept. 23. Sheeran is also the subject of a new docuseries Ed Sheeran: The Sum of it All that will debut on Disney+ on May 3."I've always been very guarded in my personal and private life; the only documentary I've ever made has been one that focused on my songwriting," Sheeran said in a statement when the documentary was announced. "Disney approached me to make a four-part documentary, and it felt like the right time to open the door and let people in. I hope people enjoy it."
