Ed Sheeran unveils new songs Castle on the Hill and Shape of You

After taking a break for the past year, Ed Sheeran is delightingfans awaiting his comeback by unveiling not one but two bouncy new pop singles.

Early Friday, he debuted Castle on the Hill and Shape of You, two upbeat songs that present a slightly different sound from the hit British singer-songwriter.

Bringing to mind the driving beat of U2's Where the Streets Have No Name and name-checking Elton John's Tiny Dancer in its chorus, Castle on the Hill was envisioned as "a love song" for the English county where Sheerangrew up, he told BBC Radio 1 on Friday morning.

He added that he's even filmed an accompanying music video populated with former high school mates.

Meanwhile, Sheeran said he originally wrote the playful and flirtyShape of You with pop star Rihanna in mind "but then I was singing some of the lyrics and was like 'Rihanna is not going to sing these words' so kept it to myself," he said, laughing.

Sheeran has previously written or co-written songs for Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, One Direction, Lupe Fiasco and for the British TV music competition X-Factor.

His two latest tracks, which premiered on a host of streaming services and via lyric videos on YouTube, are from a forthcoming album expected to be called - (Divide), following his debut album + (Plus) and sophomore release x (Multiply).

A multiple Grammy, Brit and MTV Award-winner, Sheeran announced in December 2015 that he was taking a break including from his phone, emails and social media to "travel the world and see everything I missed"after a whirlwind few years. However, his time away wasn't without controversy, with Sheeran accused of copyright infringement over his hit songs Photograph and Thinking Out Loud.

• Breakthrough British singer EdSheeran

Sheeran, 25, got his start as an indie artist creating music and producing a self-titled album in his basementwhile still a teenager. After spending some time in Los Angeles, he returned home and eventually signedto Elton John's management company Rocket Music.