Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran might be English, but the Grammy-winning singer’s first taste of his new album has arrived with a nod to the Farsi language. “Azizam,” the lead single from Sheeran’s forthcoming eighth studio album Play, is inspired by the Persian term of endearment translating to “my beloved.”
On the new track, Sheeran’s “azizam” in question is his wife Cherry. “Azizam / Meet me on the floor tonight / Show me how to move like the water / In between the dancin’ lights / Be mine, be mine, azizam,” he sings on the chorus. To help bring the song to life, Sheeran worked with several Iranian and Indian artists who contributed backing vocals played instruments on the track like the ghatam, daf, santoor, hammered dulcimer, and lute.
Making a song rooted in international collaboration like “Azizam” was a joy for Sheeran, telling Jimmy Fallon that he continues to learn about new music through his travels and seeks new ways to incorporate different sounds into his own work.
“I feel like the Persian community has really embraced the song and what we’ve been doing with it, and I feel very honored to be kind of taken by the hand and shown different things,” the Brit said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last month. He noted he also recorded a full Farsi version of the song and found similarities between some of the traditional music he grew up with sounds from other parts of the world like China, India, and Tennessee. “It’s very much [the idea that]
music is a universal language, even if it is all in a different language, there’s this thread that goes through,” he said.
“Now the song’s finished, and it’s out, I’m discovering more and more every single day that Persians are really, really proud of their culture, and it’s great to celebrate it,” he added in a BBC Radio interview earlier today.
Play is slated for release sometime in 2025.
