"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 Łatwogang, a Polish version featuring Łatwogang 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. Sheeran 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 [Salmanzadeh] 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 "Azizam" – 2:42 Digital and streaming single "Azizam" (Persian version; featuring Googoosh) – 2:42 CD and 7-inch single "Azizam" – 2:42 "Crashing" – 4:11 Digital and streaming single "Azizam" (D.O.D remix) – 2:48 Digital and streaming single "Azizam" (acoustic version) – 2:41
Credits and personnel Credits adapted from Tidal. Ed Sheeran – songwriting, production, vocal production, lead vocals, guitar, backing vocals Ilya Salmanzadeh – songwriting, production, bass, drums, keyboards, backing vocals, programming, engineering Johnny McDaid – songwriting, production, guitar, backing vocals Savan Kotecha – songwriting, production, backing vocals Graham Archer – vocal production Ganesh Murali – ghatam, tambourine Jayesh Kathak – daf Tapas Ray – santoor, hammered dulcimer, lute Andy – backing vocals Arash – backing vocals Elvira Anderfjärd – backing vocals Eyelar Mirzazadeh – backing vocals Luka Kloser – backing vocals Citizens of the World Choir – choral backing vocals Graham Archer – engineering Jeremy Lertola – assistant engineer Nick Rose – assistant engineer Will Reynolds – assistant engineer Serban Ghenea – mixing Bryce Bordone – assistant mixing engineer Stuart Hawkes – mastering
Charts
Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for "Azizam" Chart (20252026) Peakposition Brazil Airplay (Top 100 Brasil) 83 Bulgaria Airplay (PROPHON) 1 Canada AC (Billboard) 1 Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard) 6 Canada Hot AC (Billboard) 3 Colombia Anglo Airplay (National-Report) 1 Croatia International Airplay (Top lista) 1 Croatia International Airplay (Top lista) 1 Germany Airplay (BVMI) 1 Greece International (IFPI) 36 Greece Airplay (IFPI) 1 Hungary (Editors' Choice Top 40) 1 Iceland (Tónlistinn) 18 Latin America Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) 2 Latvia Airplay (LaIPA) 1 Lebanon (Lebanese Top 20) 4 Lithuania (AGATA) 62 Lithuania Airplay (TopHit) 1 Luxembourg (Billboard) 6 Malta Airplay (Radiomonitor) 1 Moldova Airplay (TopHit) 103 Nigeria (TurnTable Top 100) 39 North Macedonia Airplay (Radiomonitor) 1 Norway Airplay (IFPI Norge) 1 Panama International () 19 Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100) 1 Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100) 20 Romania Airplay (UPFR) 4 San Marino Airplay (SMRTV Top 50) 1 Serbia Airplay (Radiomonitor) 2 Slovenia Airplay (Radiomonitor) 1 South Africa Airplay (TOSAC) 2 South Korea (Circle) 27 South Korea Download (Circle) 68 Spain (PROMUSICAE) 98 Suriname (Nationale Top 40) 18 Turkey International Airplay (Radiomonitor Türkiye) 1 Venezuela Airplay (Record Report) 22 + Weekly chart performance for "Azizam" Chart (2025) Peakposition Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100) 16 Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100) 11
Monthly charts + Monthly chart performance for "Azizam" Chart (2025) Peakposition Belarus Airplay (TopHit) 7 CIS Airplay (TopHit) 1 Estonia Airplay (TopHit) 3 Kazakhstan Airplay (TopHit) 8 Latvia Airplay (TopHit) 4 Lithuania Airplay (TopHit) 2 Paraguay Airplay (SGP) 60 Romania Airplay (TopHit) 6 Russia Airplay (TopHit) 7 Ukraine Airplay (TopHit) 5
Year-end charts + Year-end chart performance for "Azizam" Chart (2025) Position Australia (ARIA) 85 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 31 Belarus Airplay (TopHit) 16 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) 6 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) 15 Bulgaria Airplay (PROPHON) 2 Canada (Canadian Hot 100) 31 Canada AC (Billboard) 6 Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard) 24 Canada Hot AC (Billboard) 16 CIS Airplay (TopHit) 5 Estonia Airplay (TopHit) 4 France (SNEP) 64 Germany (GfK) 22 Global 200 (Billboard) 130 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40) 20 Hungary (Dance Top 40) 29 Hungary (Editors' Choice Top 40) 6 Iceland (Tónlistinn) 54 Kazakhstan Airplay (TopHit) 30 Latvia Airplay (TopHit) 20 Lithuania Airplay (TopHit) 4 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 4 Netherlands (Single Top 100) 26 Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100) 3 Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100) 73 Romania Airplay (TopHit) 24 Russia Airplay (TopHit) 48 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) 38 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 30 UK Singles (OCC) 39 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) 14 US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard) 19 US Pop Airplay (Billboard) 34
Certifications
Release history + Release history for "Azizam" Region Date Format Version Label Various 4 April 2025 Original Italy Radio airplay United States7 April 2025 Hot adult contemporary radio 8 April 2025Contemporary hit radio Various 18 April 2025 Persian 2 May 2025 Original 16 May 2025 D.O.D remix 23 May 2025 Acoustic
References