Ed Sheeran sang in Persian on his single “Azizam,” but on new single “Sapphire” — the latest release from his album PLAY — he’s singing in Punjabi, a language spoken in Pakistan and India.
The song and its video are out now; the video follows Ed as he travels across India, singing the song while standing on a rooftop, walking on a beach, strolling through markets, walking down streets, hanging out on the bleachers at a sports venue and wearing a chef’s hat in a kitchen.
“Sapphire,” an upbeat love song, features vocals from legendary Indian artist Arijit Singh, who also appears in the video, along with Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan. The song is mostly in English, but in the chorus he sings a line in Punjabi that translates to “shining brightly like the stars.”
“The lights, your face, your eyes/ Exploding like fireworks in the sky/ Sapphire,” he sings.
“Sapphire was the first song I finished for PLAY that made me know where the album was heading. It’s why I finished the recording process in Goa, surrounded by some of the best musicians in India,” he writes on Instagram. “It was an incredible creative process.”
Ed says he shot the video earlier this year during his Indian tour, noting, “We wanted to showcase the beauty and breadth of the country and its culture. The final jigsaw piece for me was getting Arijit on the record. It was a journey to get there and such an amazing day of music and family.”
Ed says he and Arijit have recorded a version of “Sapphire,” which is his “favorite song on the album,” entirely in Punjabi. That version will come out in the next few weeks.
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