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Watch Ed Sheeran Bare His Fangs in New 'Bad Habits' Music Video: 'Feels Great to Be Back'

Ed Sheeran is back!

At the stroke of midnight on Friday, the 30-year-old singer released his new single "Bad Habits" alongside the tune's accompanying music video, which was directed by Dave Meyers.

Seen as an alter-ego vampire character in the clip, even trading in his signature ginger hair for a lighter, more blond hairdo - and having fangs for teeth - the video serves as a metaphor for our own vices, according to a press release.

"But bad habits lead to late nights, ending alone / Conversations with a stranger I barely know," Sheeran croons on the upbeat track. "Swearing this will be the last but it probably won't / I got nothing left to lose, or use, or do."

"Feels great to be back with my new single. I wanted the video for 'Bad Habits' to play on the nature of habits in a fantastical way so I decided on vampires," Sheeran said in a statement. "It was mega fun getting into character except for the heights (that wasn't so fun). Enjoy x."

RELATED: Ed Sheeran Says He Lost Weight After He 'Stopped All the Bad Habit Stuff in My Life'

Atlantic Records

"Bad Habits" marks Sheeran's first official release since his 2019 Grammy-nominated No.6 Collaborations Project album.

The LP features appearances from an array of fellow artists, among the likes of Justin Bieber, Camila Cabello, Travis Scott, Eminem, 50 Cent and Cardi B.

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Atlantic Records

Sheeran previously released his single "Afterglow" with an accompanying performance video late last year, his first since welcoming his baby girl, Lyra Antarctica, with wife Cherry Seaborn back in August.

At the time, the "Shape of You" singer said the track was "not the first single from the next album" but was rather "just a song I love, and hope you love too."

RELATED VIDEO: Ed Sheeran and Wife Cherry Seaborn Welcome Daughter Lyra Antarctica: 'We Are Completely in Love'

The release of "Bad Habits" also comes about after Sheeran announced in December 2019 that he was taking a break from music and social media. The artist has since returned to his social platforms, even teasing his latest track's release on his various accounts.

"Hello all. Gonna go on another break again," Sheeran wrote at the time. "The Divide era and tour changed my life in so many ways, but now it's all over it's time to go out and see some more of the world."

"I've been a bit non stop since 2017 so I'm just gonna take a breather to travel, write, and read. I'll be off social media until it's time to come back," he continued. "To my family and friends, see ya when I see ya - and to my fans, thank you for always being amazing, I promise to be back with some new music when the time is right and I've lived a little more to actually have something to write about."

Previously, the Grammy award-winning star dropped his albums Plus (+) in 2011, Multiply (x) in 2014 and Divide (÷) in 2017. With arithmetic operations as a theme for his album titles, some speculate his next release may be named "Subtract" or "Minus."

Sheeran also teased the forthcoming new album on social media earlier this year as he celebrated his 30th birthday. "I'll be back online with the 4th installment in the series later this year, until then xx," Sheeran concluded his post at the time.