Ed Sheeran has made a comeback with the surprise new track, 'Afterglow'.
The 'Shape of You' hitmaker dropped the standalone song on Monday morning after teasing fans that he had a surprise for them on the way.
The Grammy-winner shared his Jackson Pollock-inspired painting on Instagram, the artwork for the single, and told fans he would give them "a Christmas present" at 11am GMT.
He wrote: "11am GMT tomorrow. A Christmas present.(sic)"
And he's since shared the uplifting song which is available on all major streaming services along with the music video, a one-take performance of the track.
He wrote: “Hey guys. Afterglow is a song I wrote last year that I wanted to release for you. It’s not the first single from the next album, it’s just a song I love, and hope you love too. Enjoy ! Have a safe and happy festive break and New Year’s. Back to dad land for me now, ciao x (sic)"
It marks the first new material from Ed since the 2019 album, 'No.6 Collaborations Project', which featured the likes of Stormzy, Khalid, Cardi B, Chance the Rapper and Eminem, and comes a year after the singer-songwriter announced his hiatus from music.
Since then, Ed welcomed his first child with wife Cherry Seaborn, daughter Lyra, in August.
Meanwhile, last month the 'Thinking Out Loud' hitmaker donated £10 000 to the hospital that took care of his grandmother in the final weeks of her life.
Ed made the generous donation to Aldeburgh Hospital through his Framlingham Foundation Trust, which he set up with £500,000 from his own bank balance to help schools and good causes in his home county of Suffolk.
The money went towards creating a “sensory garden” at the hospital, complete with outdoor musical instruments, to be used by dementia patients and those with special needs and audiovisual disabilities.
An annual report filed by The Framlingham Foundation Trust read: “A donation to Aldeburgh Hospital League of Friends 'Sensory Garden Project' was given to assist with the purchase of outdoor musical instruments for the rehabilitation and recuperation of patients.
“Such patients include day centre clients, dementia patients and those with special needs and sensory disabilities in the community.”
Ed revealed earlier this year he had visited his ailing grandmother nearly every day in the months leading up to her death.
‘Afterglow’ is out now worldwide.