On Sept. 12, 2025, singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran released his latest album, “Play.” The album has a total of 13 songs, with a total length of 44 minutes and 38 seconds. “Play” is Sheeran’s eighth album, others including “Plus,” “Multiply” and his most popular, “Divide.” Sheeran has had tons of big hits, such as “Shape of You” with 4.5 billion streams, “Perfect” with 3.6 billion streams and “Photograph” with 3.1 billion streams. With each album released comes a big hit. Now, I will be ranking my top five songs in “Play,” going from #5 to #1.
5. “Opening”
“Opening” begins with a sad feeling, including phrases such as “It’s a long way up from rock bottom” and “I have cried tears at my brother’s grave.” The song then burst into a rap, going from a sad feeling to a more upbeat feeling, but still keeping that sad feeling. Throughout the song, the phrase “draw a line” is repeated, one moment being, “Draw a line, there’s a future here that’s yet to be seen.” The song focuses on leaving the past in the past, with many different lines showing that, one being, “Draw a line and leave the past that hurt you behind.” The song has a very deep meaning, which some could relate to. With the context and purpose, the song is very good.
4. “Old Phone”
“Old Phone” begins with the line, “I found my old phone today in a box that I had hidden away”. The song focuses on leaving things in the past, with one line being, “I kinda think that this was best left in the past, where it belongs.” One part of the song that stuck out to me was the line, “Nothing good will come from regretting.” I feel this line is talking about how if someone keeps dwelling, or regretting, something that happened in the past, they might not be able to see anything good happen. The song, just like “Opening,” has a deep meaning to it.
3. “Sapphire (feat. Arijit Singh)”
“Sapphire” is a very diverse song. The song features Indian playback singer, composer, music producer and instrumentalist Arijit Singh. The song features multiple parts in Punjabi, with one verse being, “ਚਮ-ਚਮ, ਚਮਕੇ ਸਿਤਾਰੇ ਵਰਗੀ”, which translates to “They sparkle just like stars.”.With the song having a singer who speaks another language and featuring verses in the song that are in Punjabi, the song has a diverse component, which makes it a very good song.
2. “Azizam”
Just like “Sapphire,” “Azizam” is a diverse song, with the title being in Persian, translating to “my dear,” “my beloved” and “my darling.” When I listened to the song, I started thinking about the song “Perfect,” and how the two songs had a similar meaning. The song “Perfect” talks about Sheeran’s relationship with his wife, Cherry Seaborn, and how their love for each other developed. With this song, Sheeran repeats the word “azizam,” which could indicate that he’s referring to Seaborn.
1. “A Little More”
This is, by far, my favorite song on “Play.” The song talks about moving on from someone you love, which I know can be hard to do, especially if they were close to that person. The verse, “I used to love you. Now every day, I hate you just a little more,” shows how, before they used to love the other person, but now, as each day goes by, they start to lose that love for them, little by little. The music is very upbeat, giving a techno-like vibe. Along with the regular rhythm of the lyrics and Sheeran’s voice, there’s a part where he starts to rap, which makes the song just a little more interesting. With all of these different parts that make the song unique in its own way, they also make it my favorite song from the album.
Anyone who’s a big fan and listens to Ed Sheeran, or even heard about him, should go listen to “Play.” Each song has a different meaning, which makes each of them unique in its own way. Although it has a funny name, listeners shouldn’t judge it by the title. Listeners may like it, they may not like it. But they’ll never know until they give it a shot and try it out.
