On Friday (May 9), the British singer-songwriter dropped the new song, "All of the Stars," on his YouTube page, with an accompanying video that includes images of encouraging messages posted on a wall.

Sidestepping his recent fare, which found Sheeran veering into funkier directions with his music ("Sing," the first single from his upcoming album, certainly benefited from Pharrell's guiding hand), "All of the Stars" slots more snugly in the singer's softer acoustic rock presentation for which he came to be known originally.

"It's just another night / and I'm staring at the moon," Sheeran sings pensively to start the tune, accompanied by warm piano notes, "I saw a shooting star and I thought of you."

The chorus of "All of the Stars" kicks up the momentum a bit, acoustic guitar and piano complemented by percussion and the occasional strum of electric guitar, Sheeran crooning about "all of these stars will guide us home."