Ed Sheeran sent fans wild on Sunday night as he revealed he was dropping a ‘Christmas present’ at 11am on Monday in a cryptic Instagram post.
It comes after the singer, 29, hinted he’ll be returning to music ‘very soon’ following his ‘extended break’ from the industry.
Taking to Instagram on Sunday evening, Ed posted a picture of a Jackson Pollock-inspired painting.
Exciting: Ed Sheeran sent fans wild on Sunday night as he revealed he was dropping a ‘Christmas present’ at 11am on Monday in a cryptic Instagram post
He captioned it with: ’11am GMT tomorrow. A Christmas present.’
Ed also posted the same cryptic message to his Instagram Story, where he also shared a brief video of himself sitting down with a guitar.
The post sent his fans into meltdown as they claimed the musician was ‘saving 2020’, especially after Boris Johnson’s announcement on Saturday where he put a third of England, including London, into a brutal new ‘Tier 4’ from midnight.
One person said: ‘Thank you so much for this, I can’t tell you how much we all need something to look forward to.’
Cryptic: It comes after the singer, 29, hinted he’ll be returning to music ‘very soon’ following his ‘extended break’ from the industry (he posted this image on Sunday night)
Hint? He captioned the Jackson Pollock-inspired painting with: ’11am GMT tomorrow. A Christmas present.’
Yay! Ed also posted the same cryptic message to his Instagram Story, where he also shared a brief video of himself sitting down with a guitar
A different fan put: ‘YOU REALLY SAVED 2020 OMG I CANT BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING.’
Another follower commented: ‘YOU’RE SAVING 2020.’ (sic)
While a different account added: ‘Can’t wait !!!!!! @teddysphotos you’re the best.’
Saving 2020! The post sent his fans into meltdown as they claimed the musician was ‘saving 2020’, especially after Boris Johnson’s announcement on Saturday where he put a third of England, including London, into a brutal new ‘Tier 4’ from midnight
It comes after Ed hinted he’ll be returning to music ‘very soon’ earlier this week following his ‘extended break’ from the industry.
The musician, 29 – who became a father for the first time in August when he welcomed his daughter Lyra Antarctic with wife Cherry Seaborn – announced he’d be stepping back from performing last year, in order to prioritise his family life.
Sending fans wild, the artist responded to speculation he’s set to make a comeback on social media earlier this week as he wrote: ‘All very valid questions, but you’ll know at least one answer soon.’ (sic)
Time away: The musician, 29, announced he’d be stepping back from performing a year ago in order to prioritise his family life (pictured in 2019)
A fan account shared their theories about the singer’s next album as they wrote: ‘Okay so here are my thoughts about subtract and Ed coming back:
‘One big question is whether Ed’s 18 month break started at the end of the divide tour or when he posted the note.
‘If it’s August 2019, it’s very plausible that Ed’ll be back on Christmas Eve, ’cause we all know that that’s when he posted his note last year. I, however, feel like it’s highly unlikely that the 18 months started at the end of the divide tour.
‘I first of all think that it’s too early for Ed to come back. Like he hasn’t even been able to travel that much bcs of the rona and Lyra was only born about 4 months ago, so I reckon that he wants to spend some more time with her and Cherry.
‘All very valid question’: Sending fans wild, the artist responded to speculation he’s set to make a comeback on social media earlier this week
‘Stuart [Camp, his manager] said in the podcast that subtract is probably gonna come out around August 2021. If they’re still planning on releasing it then, I just see no point in Ed already coming back in December yk.
‘If his break started after his note, it would normally end in June 2021. This just makes way more sense to me: he comes back in June with the lead single(s), release maybe one or two more singles in July (and August) and then puts out subtract in August.
‘This is obviously just a theory, but yeah I personally think he (sadly enough) won’t be back this Christmas. That’s no reason not to celebrate or look forward to that day tho cause like, IN A WEEK WE’LL LITERALLY HAVE SURVIVED A WHOLE YEAR WITHOUT OUR FLUFFY BEAN LIKE HOW COOL IS THAT?
‘I NEVER THOUGHT ID MAKE IT BUT YAY HERE WE ALL ARE IM SO PROUD OF US!! There’s still a chance that he actually will come back next week, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see :).’ (sic)
Details: A fan account shared their theories about the singer’s next album
In a rare move from the media personality, the new dad replied to the post, before adding: ‘lurky lurk… and it’s very soon.’ (sic)
MailOnline has contacted Ed’s representatives for further comment.
Back in August 2019, Ed confirmed his hiatus to spend time with his wife of two years, 28, following the end of his record-breaking Divide tour.
The Shape Of You hitmaker said in Chantry Park, Ipswich: ‘As you may or not know, I’ve been on the Divide tour for over two years now and this is the last day of the whole thing.
‘Please make it very soon!’ The media personality’s followed pleaded with him to share more details
‘There is something very bittersweet about it. I love that you guys are here and we are ending it in Ipswich. This is my last gig for probably 18 months.
‘It’s been an emotional day for a lot of people backstage. It kind of feels like, in a weird way, that you’re breaking up with a girlfriend that you’ve been with for years. It sounds odd but it has been a long tour. See you in a few years time. Thank you!’
His world tour has made history as the highest grossing of all time and surpassed the previous record set by U2’s 360 Tour.
The tour’s ticket prices were 14.2 per cent lower than U2’s $101.15 average for their 360 Tour which ran for 110 shows.
Impressive: The A Team’s last world tour, Divide, has made history as the highest grossing of all time and surpassed the previous record set by U2’s 360 Tour (pictured in 2019)
Ed and his longtime partner shared the arrival of their daughter on Instagram at the beginning of September after keeping Cherry’s pregnancy a secret right up until a few weeks before Lyra’s birth.
Revealing that the hockey player had given birth the week before, the A Team star wrote: ‘Ello! A quick message from me as I have some personal news that I wanted to share with you…
‘Last week, with the help of an amazing delivery team, Cherry gave birth to our beautiful and healthy daughter – Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran.
‘We are completely in love with her. Both mum and baby are doing amazing and we are on cloud nine over here.
Family first: The Halifax native became a father for the first time in August when he welcomed his daughter Lyra Antarctic with wife Cherry Seaborn (pictured in 2017)
‘We hope that you can respect our privacy at this time. Lots of love and I’ll see you when it’s time to come back, Ed x.’
Following her arrival, it was revealed Lyra’s first name was inspired by the main character in her dad’s favourite book series, His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman.
Lyra Belacqua, also known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the heroine of Pullman’s trilogy.
Lyra is a young girl who inhabits a parallel universe and finds herself embroiled in a cosmic war between Lord Asriel on the one side, and the first angel to come into being, called The Authority, and his Regent, called Metatron, on the other.
In 2015, Ed tweeted: ‘[By] far, Philip Pullman – his dark materials are the best books I’ve ever read.’
It is thought Ed and Cherry’s daughter’s unique middle name could be a nod to where she was conceived, with the couple visiting Antarctica exactly nine months before her birth.
The couple have been together for five years, with Ed confirming last summer that he and Cherry tied the knot in a private ceremony in January 2019.
Baby news: The couple first met at school and were able to keep the pregnancy quiet during the global COVID-19 lockdown