It was a typical Sunday afternoon when Ed Sheeran posted an image of splatter paint on his Instagram, Dec. 20, that sent fans across the world into shock. After a 361 day hiatus, a temporary break from social media and concerts, Sheeran announced that he was releasing a new song.

“I absolutely love Ed Sheeran’s new song, and I hope he’s going to release new music soon,” Julia Jenson, junior, said. 

On Dec. 24, 2019, Sheeran announced that he was taking a break from social media. That was about six months after the release of his album “No. 6 Collaborations,” which was composed entirely of songs that featured other musicians, including Justin Bieber and Camila Cabello. 

Sheeran revisited social media once at the start of his break to announce on Sept. 1, 2020 that his first child, Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran, was born. Many fans assumed this meant that they would not be hearing any new music from him for a while. 

“We [Sheeran and his wife, Cherry Seaborn Sheeran] are completely in love with her. Both mum and baby are doing amazing, and we are on cloud nine over here. 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,” Sheeran said in the post. 

Sheeran returned to his social media break, and it was not until last month that he released his newest song “Afterglow.” The slow love song was accompanied with a new music video. 

“It’s not the first single from the next album; it’s just a song I love, and hope you love too,” Sheeran said on Instagram. 

Initially, fans assumed this meant that Sheeran would be disappearing again since he announced that the song was not part of the album. However, he continued to stay on social media, promoting his song by reposting covers from fans. He also helped produce a song of a remix for Passenger called “Sword From the Stone–Gingerbread Mix.” 

While fans are not sure when Sheeran will release his next album, many are excited that he has come back to social media. Now they are waiting to see what Sheeran will do next.