— (SUBTRACT) ED SHEERAN. ASYLUM RECORDS/ ATLANTIC RECORDS.
IN FEBRUARY 2022, Ed Sheeran learned that his wife, Cherry Seaborn, had been diagnosed with cancer while pregnant with their second child and that his best friend, Jamal Edwards—a savvy West London music fan who had founded SBTV, an outlet for new artists that helped break Dave, Stormzy, and Sheeran—was dead at 31. The timing was crushing: Sheeran had just made a massive work commitment, having announced the Mathematics Tour, a year of stadium engagements around the world to celebrate his quadrilogy of arithmetic-themed studio albums—2011’s + (Plus), 2014’s x (Multiply), 2017’s ÷ (Divide), and 2021’s = (Equals)—through which the busker and loop-pedal geek had been transformed into a phenomenon. He had been rewarded royally for appending modern production flourishes to his recursive folk-pop formula, and for telegraphing the tastes of an international audience at each step of a decade-long search for the median sound; now, he could either take time to heal with his family or tough it out and hit the road.
This story is from the May 22 - June 04, 2023 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 22 - June 04, 2023 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Unmasking Diddy
The rap mogul shook off decades of rumored bad behavior with wholesome PR revamps. Now the allegations against him are his legacy.
Staging Sufjan
How playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury turned a classic indie-rock album into a Justin Peck-choreographed dance piece that's now Broadway bound.
Justin Kuritzkes Serves an Ace
With his first movie script for the erotic tennis drama Challengers, he has gone from struggling playwright to in-demand screenwriter.
To Brooklyn, by Way of Paris and Rome
A whirlwind week with Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri as she stages the brand's first New York runway show in a decade.
A Burlesque Family at Home
Showbiz couple Angie Pontani and Brian Newman’s high-spirited Marine Park house.
A Bistro With Shish Barak
Huda impressively balances its many influences.
THE 'DEBATE ME BRO
Mehdi Hasan's aggressive interviewing style landed him a Sunday show on MSNBC. Until he started talking about Palestine.
THE MAN WHO GOSSIPED TOO MUCH
For almost two decades, JOHN NELSON anonymously published blind items skewering the Hollywood elite on the blog CRAZY DAYS AND NIGHTS. Then his identity was revealed in the midst of a messy affair.
TODD BLANCHE IS A SURPRISINGLY COMPETENT LAWYER. AND HE'S ON TRACK TO KEEP HIS CLIENT OUT OF JAIL UNTIL THE ELECTION. IN DEFENSE OF TRUMP
TODD BLANCHE WAS looking for his man. Or it could be a woman, but probably not.
Self: Emma Alpern
In Outer Space Why do so many women believe their bodies are controlled by the moon?
