Ed Sheeran teases emotional new Disney+ series 'The Sum of It All' five years after his last documentary

It has been over a decade since Ed Sheeran started to take fans on a mathematical journey with his albums Plus, Multiply, Equals and Divide, and now to complete the ‘Sum of It All’, Ed is releasing an album ‘Subtract’ and a Disney+ documentary.

The ‘Shivers’ singer has always put thought behind his lyrics and album titles resulting in record breaking sales and chart-topping successes.

Speaking about his mathematical catalogue, Ed said: “I think you have to have the concept in your head", using 2011’s 'Plus' album and 2014’s Multiply as examples - the former signalled Ed adding new releases to his EPs and ‘Multiply' seeking to build off its successful predecessor.

Ed previously gave a look into his thought process and collaborative efforts for his follow-up album ‘Divide’ in 2018 when he starred in an Apple TV movie ‘Songwriter’.

Since then, Ed has released two albums namely his No.6 Collaborations Project and ‘=’, created ‘F64’, a single paying tribute to his late friend Jamal Edwards, performed on sold-out tours across the globe and has become a dad of two daughters.

So why has the ‘Eyes Closed’ singer chosen this year to release a new documentary series following his creative process for ‘Subtract’ and how he overcame multiple hurdles throughout last year? PeopleWorld takes a look.

The number of documentaries following the top singers has increased massively over the past few years with the likes of Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Liam Gallagher and Louis Tomlinson all releasing films following both their professional and personal lives.

Although Lady Gaga’s Five Foot Two documentary was released the year before Ed’s 2018 Apple film ‘Songwriter’, the latter may have been the catalyst for not only catapulting sales but also removing the ‘divide’ between pop star and fan.

The behind the scenes look invites fans to feel closer to their musical idols, who are normally out of reach, as well as get a deeper understanding of what the album depicts.

‘Songwriter’ followed Ed Sheeran’s collaborative efforts when creating his album ‘Divide’ which went on to break numerous Guinness World Records and be written into Spotify history books too, with the likes of Shape Of You receiving 10.2 million streams in its initial release.

Ahead of Ed’s upcoming album ‘Subtract’, which seemingly completes the mathematical symbols Ed uses to title his records indicated by the documentary’s title ‘Sum Of It All’, the singer and his crew may have taken notes from the documentary five years ago.

However, while the ‘Bad Habits’ singer may have returned with a docu-series for promotional benefit for his record, some could also suggest that he wanted to capture the ‘sum of his career’ to this point and also show the reality behind a very difficult year.

In the teaser trailer Ed states, “You guys said ‘do you want to make a documentary and I went yeah, it should be me in the studio and we’ll play the gig,’ That’s not what the documentary is,” before he burst into tears.

The Sum of It All provides a raw and personable look into Ed’s 2022 when he not only had to overcome the deaths of his best friend Jamal and close friend Shane Warne, but also had to fight legal battles in court for his song-writing and work through his wife Cherry’s health scares before she gave birth to their second child; all while performing on one of the largest-grossing worldwide tours ever.

Combining exclusive, never-before-seen personal archive, present-day actuality, authentic interviews with Cherry and Ed's loved ones, and intimate performances in cinematic locations, the series dives deeper into what Sheeran thinks of the world, of himself and his music.

Speaking about the four-part series with episodes called Love, Loss, Focus and Balance, Ed said: “I’ve always been very guarded in my personal and private life; the only documentary I’ve ever made has been one that focused on my song-writing. Disney approached me to make a four-part documentary, and it felt like the right time to open the door and let people in. I hope people enjoy it.”

While The Sum of It All arrives on the streaming platform May 3, Subtract will hit shelves and music services two days later on May 5.