British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran ended a near-two year hiatus from music by releasing two new singles, "Shape of You" and "Castle on the Hill", on Friday.
"Cause I've been away for a bit here's two singles rather than one", the 25-year-old Grammy and BRIT Award-winner posted on Twitter.
"Shape of You" was initially being written for Barbadian singer Rihanna but Sheeran told BBC Radio 1's Breakfast Show that he changed his mind as the lyrics progressed.
Sheeran, who has become one of Britain's top-selling artists in recent years and written songs for One Direction, Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber, did not say whether an album would follow the two releases.
The songs are Sheeran's first since he released "Photograph" in May 2015. He told the BBC he spent his time off traveling as he "never saw anything other than hotels, venues and a bar" when touring.
