Ed Sheeran Says There Will Be No Singles or Music Videos for New Album ‘Autumn Variations’

Ed Sheeran said there won’t be any singles or music videos to go with his latest album, Autumn variations.

The singer-songwriter announced the news during a performance on CBS mornings Friday, the same day the album came out.

“For every record I did all the big stuff and did all these radio interviews and went on the late-night shows and did all this stuff,” Sheeran explained. “And there isn’t even one single for this record. There is no music video. I just put it out there.”

Autumn variations It is the English singer’s second album to be released this year, after releasing his sixth studio album − (pronounced subtract) in May. This project is also his first independent release on Gingerbread Man Records, which he founded.

Sheeran added that it was important for him to go the independent route as he wanted the chance to move away from being a big-budget pop star.

“I want to put out an independent record,” the “Perfect” singer said. “And also, I’ve had twelve, thirteen years of being a pop star, and when I’m under pressure, I gotta sell one this week, you gotta have this hit single, you gotta have this one. And part of me says, ‘Why?’

Sheeran also explained how dropping the album independently took away some of the pressure and stress that came from working with major labels.

“Everything has to be the biggest and best every time, and better the next time,” he said. “I think that’s part of being independent, it takes the pressure off. There are no expectations because there is no company. You have to live with it. You have to say, ‘I don’t care what people think.’

The ‘Shape of You’ artist, who recently completed the North American leg of his Mathematics World Tour, made the announcement Autumn variations in August. At the time, he also described the inspiration behind the album.

“Last fall I discovered that my friends and I were going through so many life changes,” Sheeran wrote on Instagram. “After the heat of summer, everything calmed down, settled down, fell apart, came to a head or imploded.”

He continued: “When I was going through a tough time early last year, songwriting helped me understand my feelings and come to terms with what was going on. When I heard about my friend’s different situations, I wrote songs, some from their perspective, some from mine, to capture how she and I viewed the world at the time. There were highs of falling in love and new friendships, along with lows of heartbreak, depression, loneliness and confusion.”