In a candid Instagram post this week, Ed Sheeran wrote that his next single, “Eyes Closed,” is about his friend Jamal Edwards who died last year. He explained that the song is about losing someone and “feeling like every time you go out, you expect to just bump into them.”
He went on to say that "You sorta have to take yourself out of reality sometimes to numb the pain of loss, but certain things just bring you right back into it."
Jamal was a music entrepreneur and DJ, who helped launch Sheeran's career in its early days. He died of cardiac arrest following recreational drug use. He was 31.
“Eyes Closed” is from Sheeran’s next album, Subtract, which will be out on May 5.