Ed Sheeran Already Has 40 Songs for His Next Album

Ed Sheeran fans who are tired of playing his debut U.S. album + [Plus], over and over, listen up: the British singer's got plenty of new tunes coming soon.

Ed says he's been using his time on the Taylor Swift tour to come up with material for his next album, and it's "shaping up good."  In fact, he says he's written and recorded some 40 -- count 'em, 40 -- tunes for the project, though right now, he only predicts that nine of them will make the final cut for the new album.

The plan, says Ed, is to have 14 songs in total ready to go in December, when he plans to enter the studio, and he's still predicting a February 2014 release date for the album.

Ed says the fact that Taylor's tours last for months and months has given him ample opportunity to get everything just right.

"It's such a long tour, and it's so spread out, that it's giving me the opportunity to properly put together the second album," he tells the paper.  "It doesn't feel like I'm being rushed in the studio.  I get another six months on top of what I've already written to put together the record, which I think is important."

Ed's tour with Taylor continues through September; it's not clear if the two friends have collaborated on any new music while on the road.  Both artists will perform on the Billboard Music Awards, which air live from Las Vegas May 19 on ABC.