Ed Sheeran performs acoustic version of “Eyes Closed” on ‘American Idol’

Ed Sheeran took a break from his Mathematics Tour to give a stripped version of his latest single “Eyes Closed” on American Idol.

Ed Sheeran and Alanis Morissette temporarily replaced Katy Perry and Lionel Richie while they were in England performing as part of the Coronation Celebration for King Charles III.

“I can’t wait to guide you through this stage of the competition and career and yeah this is the first time I’ve done this on American Idol, I can’t wait to take the iconic American Idol stage,” Sheeran previously shared. “Mostly, I’m just looking forward to meeting all of you and talking through life and music and I hope you’re having a great time and I’ll see you very, very soon. Lots of love.”

"Eyes Closed" is the latest single off of Ed's new album Subtract which was released last Friday.

Subtract is an album of despair, grief and hope and all of the songs on the project were written after working through a really difficult period in his life. This album is one of his most vulnerable albums to date lyrically.

“Writing songs is my therapy. It helps me make sense of my feelings. I wrote without thought of what the songs would be, I just wrote whatever tumbled out. And in just over a week, I replaced a decade’s worth of work with my deepest darkest thoughts,”.

“Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumor, with no route to treatment until after the birth,” he shared, referring to Cherry Seaborn whom he shares two children with.

The 32-year-old hitmaker continued, “My best friend Jamal, a brother to me, died suddenly and I found myself standing in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter,” he recalled, referencing the recent plagiarism lawsuit concerning his No. 1 hit “Shape Of You.”

“I was spiralling through fear, depression and anxiety. I felt like I was drowning, head below the surface, looking up but not being able to break through for air.”

Produced by Aaron Dessner, the project features 14 tracks, including his current single “Boat” and the fan-favourite tunes “Curtains,” “Life Goes On,” “Dusty,” “End Of Youth,” “Salt Water” and more.

The deluxe version also features four bonus tracks "Wildflowers", "Stoned", "Toughest" and "Moving".

Ed also created a visual album for Subtract with Mia Barnes which was released alongside the album. 

Watch the official video for "Dusty" below:

We love you Ed! ❤️