The Farsi word “azizam” – meaning my dear or my darling in English – may not have the same level of global resonance as habibi or ma chérie, but to us Persians it’s a daily refrain. We use it with our family, partners, friends; my cat probably thinks it’s her middle name by now. So it felt huge when Ed Sheeran announced that the lead single from his new album would be called just that: Azizam.
The track, inspired by the Iranian heritage of Stockholm-based producer Ilya Salmanzadeh, has divided critics, with a Telegraph review calling it “a slice of pure pop froth that couldn’t be any more generic and upbeat if it was written by an AI programme”. But these reproaches are missing a whole other dimension: that the song has triggered a huge emotional response from millions of Iranians around the world. “Hearing a beloved artist embrace our language with such care? We feel it. And we’re here for it,” said one popular comment on Sheeran’s Instagram.
