{"id":70076,"date":"2021-06-25T07:18:04","date_gmt":"2021-06-25T06:18:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=70076"},"modified":"2021-06-25T07:18:04","modified_gmt":"2021-06-25T06:18:04","slug":"ed-sheerans-bad-habits-is-thriller-for-a-new-generation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2021\/06\/ed-sheerans-bad-habits-is-thriller-for-a-new-generation\/","title":{"rendered":"Ed Sheeran\u2019s \u2018Bad Habits\u2019 Is \u2018Thriller\u2019 For A New Generation"},"content":{"rendered":"

There, I said it. Even just watching the preview clips before this morning\u2019s release it felt as though Ed Sheeran\u2019s new song and video, \u2018Bad Habits\u2019, was paying homage to the Michael Jackson classic, \u2018Thriller\u2019\u2026at least in the video, if not the song.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Sonically it\u2019s a new direction for Sheeran, it feels as though it\u2019s been pitched slightly higher than his usual vocals: there\u2019s a sense that maybe this song was originally meant for Justin Bieber, but for whatever reason Sheeran has decided to sing it himself. \u00a0If that\u2019s the case, then it was the right move, because even though takes a little bit of getting used to, there\u2019s no doubting that once you get over that, it\u2019s catchy.<\/p>\n

An upbeat pop song with a danceable chorus, the lyrics are simple, and centre on the point of view of the main character, who (kind of?) blames his bad habits on a lover. Deep down however he knows he\u2019s rhe only one who can break his bad habits – and the only he\u2019s going to do that is by no longer remaining in contact with his lover.<\/p>\n

The video takes the song in a different direction. Now there\u2019s no lover involved, but rather the one that he lets take control when the sun goes down is his vampiric alter ego. Sheeran, resplendent in a pink suit, long green acrylic nails, dark glitter under his eyes, fangs, and – shock – BLONDE hair\u2026okay it\u2019s just a lighter ginger really – starts off in the beauty salon, getting his do touched up, before spending\u00a0his nights roaming the streets, Thriller style, with his vampire crew. There\u2019s a lovely moment when he goes to hand a smiley faced balloon to a child\u2026but that doesn\u2019t last long as the child – she\u2019s a vampire too of course – pops it with her own talons. Other cool moments include a confrontation between vampire Ed and his real self (like the balloon, this Sheeran pops and deflates) as well as dancing, and flying. You get the feeling everyone on set had a really good time making this video!<\/p>\n

Dawn breaks, and all the vampires crumble into dust – including, it seems, Sheeran, but then we flash to the real Ed, who rubs his makeup off, and effectively breaks the fourth wall by returning to the way we all know and love him, a simple man in a hoodie, playing and singing with his guitar. In a way this too feels like a nod to \u2018Thriller\u2019, which famously ended with the \u201creal\u201d Jackson consoling his girl, before turning to the viewers to reveal that his true identity is a zombie.<\/p>\n

\u2019Bad Habits\u2019 is out now and can be streamed and downloaded here<\/a>.\u00a0Watch the video for \u2018Bad Habits\u2019 here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There, I said it. Even just watching the preview clips before this morning\u2019s release it felt as though Ed Sheeran\u2019s new song and video, \u2018Bad Habits\u2019, was paying homage to the Michael Jackson classic, \u2018Thriller\u2019\u2026at least in the video, if not the song.<\/p>\n

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The tour will take in 46 dates, including dates in Cork, Dublin, Manchester, Glasgow, and London, First concert is on May 4 at P\u00e1irc U\u00ed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Concerts"","block_context":{"text":"Concerts","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/concerts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/22008209_10155461245512247_2730324295476132654_n.jpg?fit=828%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/22008209_10155461245512247_2730324295476132654_n.jpg?fit=828%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/22008209_10155461245512247_2730324295476132654_n.jpg?fit=828%2C315&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/22008209_10155461245512247_2730324295476132654_n.jpg?fit=828%2C315&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":93700,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2025\/12\/the-story-behind-ed-sheerans-high-speed-f1-track-drive\/","url_meta":{"origin":70076,"position":3},"title":"The Story Behind Ed Sheeran\u2019s High-Speed F1 Track \u201cDrive\u201d","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"16\/12\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Ed Sheeran has recently spoken out on the personal significance of the song \"Drive\" for F1: The Movie, the music that closes the film. The track plays during the final scene and the end credits, which gives it a central place in the film\u2019s sound design. 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Ed tweeted after it that you can also pre-order the Don't EP through iTunes: \u00a0 you can pre-order the Don't EP now, it has a remix by one of my favourite rappers,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Videos"","block_context":{"text":"Videos","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/videos\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/ed-sheeran-dont.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/ed-sheeran-dont.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/ed-sheeran-dont.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/ed-sheeran-dont.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/ed-sheeran-dont.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}