May 5 (UPI) -- On Friday, Sheeran released Subtract, the final album in the Mathematics series that started with Plus in 2011. That was followed by X in 2014 and Divide in 2017. In between, he dropped No. 6 Collaborations Project in 2019, before returning to math in 2021 with Equals.
"I kinda feel a bit all over the place at the moment. I made this album as a way to make sense of things that go on inside my head, and immensely proud of it," Sheeran posted on Instagram. "I woke up this morning and just felt lighter. Lighter that the album is in the world, and lighter that people are connecting with it on such a deep and meaningful level."
The 14-track acoustic album was produced by Aaron Dessner, who was introduced to the UK-born singer by Taylor Swift. Dessner founded and is in the band The National, along with his twin brother Bryce and three friends, two of whom are also brothers. Dessner worked on two albums with Swift, 2020's Folklore and 2020's Evermore. Folklore won the 2021 Grammy for Record of the Year.
"I feel so grateful to have been able to work with @aarondessner on this project, he brought out a side of me I buried down, out of fear and fake bravado, and helped me create something that I know will be one of the most important albums in my discography for many reasons. Thank you all for all your kind words," Sheeran added to his Instagram post.
Sheeran is releasing a documentary on Disney+ and he's doing both a theater tour and an arena tour in support of the project.
On Thursday, Sheeran prevailed in the copyright trial over his song "Thinking Out Loud," which was accused of borrowing too many chords from the Marvin Gaye song "Let's Get It On." Heirs of Ed Townsend, Gaye's co-writer on the song brought the lawsuit, Sheeran's fourth on similar grounds, alleging he borrowed from other works.
