Ed Sheeran has left fans floored after announcing he is set to step back from music for some time. He admitted he needs to "do the dad thing" for a while, as he revealed he has to spend time with his kids.
The Lego House superstar, 35, kicked off his North American Tour on Saturday night (June 13). Performing in front of thousands of fans in Glendale, Arizona, Ed is continuing to promote his album Play, which shot to the top of the charts across the world.
Performing some of the hits from the album, including "Azizam" and "Sapphire", Ed stopped the show midway through the gig to deliver the news. It comes as he continues to move away from music after he quit his record label after 15 years together.
Ed Sheeran's Announcement to Fans
Speaking to concertgoers, Ed said: "This is gonna be my last time here in a while. I might take some time off once this tour has ended and sort of do the dad thing, so if I don't see you for a while, I love you, thank you for coming."
Ed is a doting dad to his two young kids Lyra, 5, and Jupiter, 4. He shares his loving children with wife Cherry Seaborn, whom he married in January 2019 after being childhood sweethearts.
Previous Breaks from Music
The singer's hectic schedule has meant that he has barely been with his family for most of this year. This was made worse when he began his Loop tour back in January in New Zealand, before moving to Australia and then onto South America.
Now, the Castle on the Hill singer will perform for audiences across North America for the next five months before ending his tour on November 7. However, despite the shock announcement, this is not the first time that Ed has taken time away from music.
After the success of his Multiply album in 2015, Ed decided to step back and spend time with his loved ones before returning to music with Divide in 2017. Then after the huge success of that album, he retreated from the limelight again between 2019 and 2021.
Leaving His Record Label
Ed's life has been shifting away from music for several months now, after Ed revealed he had decided to leave his record label after over a decade. Stunning fans in a statement, he wrote: "This isn't a 'disgruntled artist leaves record label.' This is a boy who started as a teenager on the company with different priorities, to the father-of-two man who exists now, who feels like he needs a shift and change."
Ed first signed to Atlantic Records in 2011, which helped propel him to the top of the charts. Since then, Ed has become one of the most streamed artists in history, with his track Shape of You being streamed 5 billion times. He has also shifted 200 million albums, cementing his place as one of the biggest-selling artists of all time.
