Azizam (song)


"Azizam" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was released on 4 April 2025 under Sheeran's own label Gingerbread Man Records and Atlantic Records, and distributed by Warner Records as the lead single from his eighth studio album, Play. The track was written and produced by Sheeran, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Johnny McDaid, and Savan Kotecha. A Persian version of the song featuring Iranian singer Googoosh was released on 18 April 2025. After a bet with Polish influencer Latwogang, a Polish version featuring Latwogang was released on 9 October 2025. The CD and 7-inch singles were issued on 2 May 2025, including exclusive bonus track "Crashing". "Azizam" debuted at number three on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Sheeran's 42nd top 10 hit in his home country. It also topped the charts in Belgium and the Netherlands, and reached top 10 in Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark. "Azizam" won International Hit of the Year Award at the 2025 NRJ Music Awards. It was also nominated for Song of the Year at the 2026 Brit Awards.

Composition

The word "azizam" originates from the Persian language and literally translates to "my dear" or "my beloved". The track features a vibrant dance beat with Persian music influences. Several Iranian and Indian artists took part in the recording of the song, playing instruments like ghatam, daf, santoor, hammered dulcimer, or lute, and singing backing vocals. "Azizam" was inspired by Sheeran's wife and their love affair. The singer explained the meaning of the song and its composition process on his social media pages:
"Even though it's completely different to anything that I've ever done before, 'Azizam' feels familiar to me. I wanted to create a party atmosphere in a song and Ilya Salmanzadeh, who I worked with on the track, helped bring that to life. He was so inspiring to work with. I wrote 'Azizam' after suggested trying out making music inspired by his Persian heritage and culture. I love learning about music and different cultures the more I travel and connect with people. It was like opening a door to a completely new and exciting world. I loved how a lot of rhythms, scales, melodies and instruments were different but similar to the Irish trad music I had grown up with. It was showing to me music connects us all, and really is a universal language".

Promotion

On 15 March 2025, he debuted "Azizam" during a surprise street performance in New Orleans. Four days later, a 30-second snippet of "Azizam" premiered on YouTube.

Critical reception

Reviewing "Azizam" for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis wrote that the song at first instance appears to be a non-commercial tune but "once you hear the end result, it has pretty much the same relation to Persian music as 'Galway Girl' did to sean-nós singing" stressing that the "Middle Eastern cast to a counter-melody that appears during the chorus, but the rest is positively Anglo-Saxon".

Music video

On 4 April 2025, Sheeran released the "Pink Heart Video" of "Azizam", directed by Liam Pethick. It was filmed mainly in the United States, during the promotion of the single in March 2025.
The official music video was released on 17 April 2025. It was filmed in South London in mid-February 2025, after Sheeran finished the Indian leg of his ongoing +–=÷× Tour, and directed by Iranian-American filmmaker, Saman Kesh. The Persian wedding-themed video stars Googoosh, Andy, Omid Djalili, Eyelar, Ilya Salmanzadeh and Shervin Alenabi.

Track listing

Digital and streaming single
  1. "Azizam" – 2:42Digital and streaming single
  2. "Azizam" – 2:42CD and 7-inch single
  3. "Azizam" – 2:42
  4. "Crashing" – 4:11Digital and streaming single
  5. "Azizam" – 2:48Digital and streaming single
  6. "Azizam" – 2:41

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart Peak
position
Poland 16
Poland 11