Ed Sheeran delights Persians by confirming Farsi version of new hit ‘Azizam’

British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is set to hit the studios today to record the Farsi version of his latest hit song ‘Azizam’.

‘Azizam’ was released on 4 April and is the lead single for Sheeran’s upcoming eighth studio album ‘Play’. Co-produced by Iranian-born Swedish songwriter Ilya Salmanzadeh, the song incorporates Persian rhythms and instruments.

At the centre of the song is the title refrain of ‘azizam’ which means “my dear” in Farsi. While music critics have been muted on the track from Sheeran, it has ignited the international Persian community as the British musician puts their language’s term of endearment as the focal point of his album’s lead single.

Sheeran confirmed to Hits Radio that he is set to return to the studio on Tuesday to record a version of the song entirely in Farsi. “The singer who’s on it is about as big as it gets in the Persian community,” Sheeran said. “I’m very excited and honoured.”

“It was really exciting for me to discover new things but also for him to explore stuff that he’d been familiar with since birth,” Sheeran said of the writing process with Ilya. “It’s been a really fun process because the more it’s been out and Persians have known about it, the more I get to learn stuff.”

It’s not the first time Sheeran has used his musical platform to highlight other cultures. The ginger-haired singer has collaborated with Afrobeats stars Burna Boy and Fireboy DML, sung in Punjabi at an Indian concert and learned Spanish for a song with J Balvin.

Top translated tunes

There’s also a rich history of pop songs that have made it big by being released in more than one language.

One of the first examples of a pop song getting a translation is from The Beatles. Their 1963 singles ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ and ‘She Loves You’ were translated and released in German as ‘Komm, gib mir deine Hand’ and ‘Sie liebt dich’.

The German versions were translated by Camillo Felgen and released under the slightly altered moniker Die Beatles. At first, the fab four were unconvinced by the idea, but the double A-side single rocketed up to the top of the German charts. Still, they never did it again.

The Beatles – I Want to Hold Your Hand/She Loves You

Nena – 99 Luftballons

Every once in a while, a non-English language track makes a massive imprint on the US and UK charts. In 1983, that song was Nena’s ‘99 Luftballons’. Thanks to its insanely catchy hook, the West German band’s second single wasn’t just a hit in Germany, but across Europe and even Japan.

Clearly, it was essential they re-recorded the song into English. Translating the lyrics poetically instead of literally, Nena released ‘99 Red Balloons’ the following year. Nena and her band were against the new recording, but it proved successful in the UK, Ireland, Canada and South Africa.

Luis Fonsi – Despacito

Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi released his hit reggaeton track ‘Despacito’ featuring fellow Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee early in 2017. It was an instant hit in the Latin music community bringing it to the attention of Canadian pop superstar Justin Bieber while he was in a Colombian nightclub.

Within months of its release, Bieber wanted to record a remix. Singing in Spanish for the first time, Bieber helped create the new version of the song. Within 24 hours of its release, the remix had 20 million views on YouTube and the two songs went on to be one of the most successful of 2017.

Intriguingly, Sheeran also campaigned to be featured on a remix of ‘Despacito’ but got pipped to the post by Bieber. Maybe there’s a frustrated Bieber out there wishing he was releasing a Farsi hit right now.