Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran has announced his next album, Subtract, will be released on May 5.
"I had been working on Subtract for a decade, trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album, writing and recording hundreds of songs with a clear vision of what I thought it should be," Sheeran said in a statement Wednesday.
"Then at the start of 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art," the 32-year-old artist explained.
"Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumor, with no route to treatment until after the birth. My best friend Jamal, a brother to me, died suddenly and I found myself standing in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter. I was spiraling through fear, depression and anxiety."
The Grammy-winner said working on the album was therapy for him because it helped him process his 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," he said.
Sheeran has been married to Cherry Seaborn since 2019. They are the parents of two young children.
His most recent album was 2021's Equals. His five existing albums have sold a total of more than 150 million copies.