The latest rendition of the British singer/songwriter’s romantic ballad, which dropped on Thursday night, features stand-out vocals from his friend Swift.
Fans are drenched in nostalgia as they are reintroduced to elementary school sweethearts Jack and Ava 10 years later. In video for “The Joker and The Queen,” they are now grown up and at college — and they still bear a striking resemblance to Sheeran and Swift.
Unveiling the track on Instagram, Sheeran told his 37 million followers: “Me and Taylor first met and wrote + recorded our first song together in 2012, ten years ago now, I’m so so honored to have her on this song.
“Not only is she the best singer/songwriter in the world but she’s also a very close friend, I’m very lucky to have her in my life.
“For the music video we got the kids from our song Everything Has Changed, all grown up and off to college now!”
After the video dropped, Swift shared a clip on her Instagram stories along with the caption: “Congrats @teddyphotos!! This video makes me think of our friendship all these years… also can’t believe Jack & Ava from the Everything Has Changed video came back and did this!! Nostalgic heaven!”
“The Joker and the Queen” marks the pair’s fourth collaboration. They followed “Everything Has Changed” with “End Game” in 2017 and “Run (Taylor’s Version),” from Swift’s rerelease of her “Red” album, in 2021.
On Tuesday night, Sheeran took home the Songwriter of the Year award at the 2022 Brits, where he also performed his solo version of “The Joker and The Queen” as well as giving a special rendition of his single “Bad Habits” with rock band Bring Me the Horizon.
