Ed Sheeran has released his new song ‘Celestial’ in collaboration with Pokémon.
The track was released Thursday (September 29) with a music video featuring all sorts of Pokémon – from a Snorlax that saves Sheeran from a car accident to a Lapras that takes him across a river – who appear as sketches art-directed by Yu Nagaba, who emulated the way Sheeran doodled Pokémon as a child.
In a comment on the YouTube video, Sheeran plugged Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, new games launching on Nintendo Switch November 18, telling fans: “Play the games to find the song and if you name any of your Pokémon after me, let me know.”
Sheeran elaborated on his long-standing love for Pokémon in a statement. “I’ve played Pokémon since I was in primary school,” he said. “Me and my brother used to have different versions of the games and would trade Pokémon together ‘til we each completed our Pokédex. I loved the cards but the games are what I lost myself in. I loved the whole world they created; it kept me distracted if there was negative stuff happening in my life/school that I wanted to avoid. It was a world I could escape into and I’ve played it ever since.
“Even though I’m 31 now, I still own the same Game Boy Colour and play Pokémon Yellow or Silver on planes and trains when I’m on tour. It’s such an honour to add a song into a Pokémon game and shoot a nostalgic video too. I hope you guys enjoy the song and video – it was a blast to film!”
To celebrate the collaboration, Sheeran got a new tattoo of Squirtle on his arm, which he revealed to tease the song.
Last November saw Sheeran perform a special live set within Pokémon Go shortly after the release of his fourth and most recent album, ‘=’.
Meanwhile, Ed Sheeran is scheduled to play an intimate one-off concert in London next month to raise funds for mental health support charity Shout.
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