Just before he was about to release his fourth album, =, Ed Sheeran faced the worst coincidence — he came down with Covid-19. Releasing an album in the middle of a pandemic is obviously tricky, but the non-stop promo cycle means lots of appearances, performances, and being around other people. That had to all come grinding to a halt as he quarantined and recovered. Luckily, he seemed to have a mild case, thanks to vaccination, and recovered nicely. So quickly, in fact, that he was still able to make his scheduled performance for Saturday Night Live in support of his new music.
Kicking off the night with one of the new album’s singles, “Shivers,” he got into another single for the second performance of the night. “Overpass Graffiti” is a very narrative-driven song about a first love, almost Taylor Swift-esque in its nostalgia and longing, and definitely with traces of “Boys Of Summer” in its DNA as well. Although the album version is a bit synthier and more polished, Sheeran performed the song on SNL with his trusty acoustic guitar, backed by a band. It’s one of the best songs off the new album, and will likely be a fan-favorite very soon. Check out the performance above.