Ed Sheeran is taking a break from both music and social media until further notice.
As reported by The Independent , the singer announced his hiatus in an Instagram post shared on Tuesday, just two days after dropping the music video for his new song “Put It On Me.” The upload was a simple screenshot of a message written in the Notes app on his phone, in which he explained to his 32.2 million followers that he would be taking some time “to go out and see some more of the world.”
Ed noted that he had been “a bit non stop” since embarking on his two-and-a-half yearlong Divide world tour in 2017, which just concluded in August. It set a number of records, including highest-grossing concert tour and most tickets sold by a tour.
“I’m just gonna take a breather to travel, write, and read,” he said. “I’ll be off all social media until it’s time to come back.”
He continued by promising his fans that he would, eventually, be back with new music “when the time is right and I’ve lived a little more to actually have something to write about.”
Ed’s profile photo on Instagram has changed as well — it now reads “BRB” in bold, white letters against an all-black background.
Fans of the “Shape of You” singer were nothing but understanding of his decision to take a well-deserved break. The announcement Instagram post has earned more than 1.3 million likes and nearly 19,000 comments from his admirers. While many expressed a bit of sadness that Ed would be quiet for a while, they were also extremely supportive of the singer’s move.
“Hurry back, we’ll be here,” one person wrote.
“I love you and I’m gonna miss you but you are right, enjoy and live whatever you have to!!” said another.
“Knew you were on a break but seeing this makes it clear how much I’ll miss you popping up! Enjoy your travels and times with family and friends! Thank you for leaving us with so much great music and awesome videos while we wait! xoxoxo,” commented a third.
This is not the first time that Ed has taken a step back from the spotlight. As noted by Hollywood Reporter , the star announced another social media hiatus in similar fashion in December 2015. A year later, he returned with his Grammy Award-winning third album Divide .
Ed’s breather follows up yet another successful year for the artist. His No. 6 Collaborations Project — which is full of tracks featuring myriad artists including Skrillex, Justin Bieber , and Christ Stapleton — became his third No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. Hollywood Reporter also noted that Spotify announced that his hit “Shape of You” was the most streamed song of the decade with 2.3 billion total plays.
Ed was also just named the Official Artist of the Decade in the U.K. by the Official Charts Company.