Ed Sheeran duets in Spanish with Colombian singer J Balvin on two new collaborative songs.
The pop megastar said it had been a “proper challenge” to learn the language for the project but he had “so much fun doing it”.
The idea for the collaboration came after a chance encounter when Sheeran overheard Balvin in a New York gym and recognised his voice.
The pair chatted and became friends before deciding to work together, saying they wanted to bring each other into their respective worlds.
The tracks, titled Sigue and Forever My Love, were made available on streaming platforms on Thursday evening.
Sheeran said he hoped fans enjoyed listening to the tracks as much as he enjoyed making them, while Balvin praised the “good vibes”.
Sigue features classic driving Reggaeton beats and rap segments, while Forever My Love – a love balled – is played acoustically, with melodic harmonies.
“I met J in a gym in New York last year – it was just me and him very early in the morning. I recognised his voice when he was on the phone so I just went up and said hi.
“We chatted so long, we ended up having lunch and then afternoon tea. Then just went to being mates who chatted nonstop.
“He wanted to bring me into his world, and I wanted to bring him into mine.
“It was a proper challenge learning Spanish for this and I had so much fun doing it.”
Writing on Instagram after the songs’ release Sheeran wrote: “Forever My Love and ‘Sigue’ are officially out. Hope you all enjoy these as much as we enjoyed making them x.”
Posting a clip captioned in Spanish on his own page, Balvin wrote: “Good vibes, grateful forever.”