Ed Sheeran Debuts New Pharrell-Produced, Justin Timberlake-Influenced Single “Sing”

Ed Sheeran's known as a serious, acoustic-based singer/songwriter, but he gets pretty funky on his new single "Sing," which he debuted Monday. 

The song, produced by Pharrell Williams, sounds completely different than anything Ed's done before.  Ed tells Rolling Stone that the song is about secretly drinking at a music industry party where no alcohol was being served.  He tells Billboard that it was directly influenced by the sound of Justin Timberlake's albums Justified and FutureSex/LoveSounds.

Pharrell provided the track and Ed wrote the song over it, marking the first time Ed had ever composed that way. Speaking to Billboard, Pharrell says of Ed, "He's one of the most impressive, underestimated singer-songwriters of our time. And now he's got a dance record...it's danceable. And he was able to still tell a really good story on top of it."

"Sing" is from Ed's new album x, which will be out in June.