Why Ed Sheeran's "Azizam" and "Sapphire" Work

At this point, Ed Sheeran has nothing left to prove. His blend of folk and acoustic songwriting with mainstream pop sensibilities has turned him from a kid busking in the streets of London to a world-conquering superstar and quite literally one of the most successful touring acts in music history. His first three albums, 2011's + (Plus), 2014's x (Multiply), and 2017's ÷ (Divide) would push him to stratospheric commercial success and general respect from critics. But by 2019's No. 6 Collaborations Project and 2021's = (Equals), many critics and some general listeners were beginning to feel that his music was becoming sonically stale (I am not one of those people; I enjoyed both of these projects, as well as his 2023 album - [Minus]).

Fast forward to 2025, and we have a new Ed Sheeran project coming soon. Now that he's completed the math series of album titles, he's moving to titles themed after music playback, starting with Play, releasing on September 12. So far, he's released 4 singles: "Azizam", "Old Phone", "Sapphire", and "A Little More". I want to focus on "Azizam" and "Sapphire" in particular, because of how they stand out in Ed's discography and what they represent.

A couple of things come to mind with these two tracks. First of all, and most obviously, big pop Ed Sheeran is so back. He's connected with pop megaproducers and songwriting powerhouses Ilya Salmanzadeh and Savan Kotecha, who are responsible for hits by Ariana Grande, Lizzo, Normani, One Direction, The Weeknd, and more. The second thing of note, and the one that stands out in particular, is that these are not standard run-of-the-mill top-40 soundscapes at play on these songs. Yes, the standard pop song formula is still fully present here, but these songs don't sound like your everyday radio hits. Ed Sheeran has tapped into a more global soundboard on "Azizam" and "Sapphire", and the result is so sweet.

Let's start with "Azizam". In an interview with NME, Ed said it was Ilya himself who helped inspire the idea behind the song.

"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."

I love this quote because he's absolutely right. Music is a universal language, and it's always cool to see artists meld together sounds from different cultures. "Azizam" (Farsi for "my love" or "my dear") incorporates traditional Iranian instruments like the santoor, daf, and lute, and dances along at a 6/8 time signature ubiquitous throughout Persian music. Ed even made a fully Persian-language version of the song with legendary Persian pop diva Googoosh. It's clear that Ed & co. did their research, and that's why it works.

The music video is an even bigger onslaught of Persian culture, with exaggerated caricatures and stereotypes of Persian weddings. It's so over-the-top, but the hyperbole itself, combined with the personnel involved in the creation of the video, is exactly how it nails its comical appreciation of Iranian culture. Nearly everyone involved in the creation of the music video is Persian, from director Saman Kesh to cameos from Omid Djalili, Andy, Ilya, and Googoosh herself.

I've never seen a Western pop act fully incorporate Iranian culture into a pop release, so to have an artist as huge as Ed Sheeran take on the task and execute it so well and with so much intention has been a joy. And from personal experience, I can tell you that the Iranian diaspora has been absolutely eating up this song. Googoosh has also been performing "Azizam" throughout her farewell tour, and Iranian comedian Maz Jobrani used the song as his introduction music at the beginning of his set in Portland, right after the song was first released. We've been having so much fun with this song.

But as much as I enjoy "Azizam", it's been "Sapphire" that's been sticking with me lately (sorry, fellow Persians, I know, I know, I still love "Azizam" for what it is). This song is basically everything I liked about the integration and appreciation of Persian culture in "Azizam", but taken even further and executed even more flawlessly. Similarly to "Azizam", "Sapphire" is a product of an Asian soundboard, this time incorporating the sounds and influences of Indian, and specifically Punjabi, music.

The song was recorded in Goa, with vocals and sitar contributions from Punjabi multi-instrumentalist Ajirit Singh, and its video was filmed across India while Ed was on tour in the region. He expanded on this in another NME interview:

“Sapphire was the first song I finished for ‘Play’ that made me know where the album was heading. It’s why I finished the recording process in Goa surrounded by some of the best musicians in India. It was an incredible creative process,” Sheeran explained. “I shot the music video with Liam [Pethick, director] and Nic [Minns, DOP] across my India tour earlier this year, we wanted to showcase the beauty and breadth of the country and its culture.”

Almost immediately, you can hear the sonic influences from the region mixed into this Western pop formula, and the result is a bright, vivid, and thrilling listen. I also love that Ed not only takes a swing at singing in Punjabi in the chorus, but gives Arijit Singh a moment to shine in his own right on the track. And just like "Azizam", he uses the video as an opportunity to show love to the culture.

I think this video works even better than "Azizam" because it's not trying to be anything over the top. It's just Ed traveling through India, hanging out with a youth soccer team and a cricket team, clubbing with community members, riding through town with Arijit Singh, and taking a ride in a rickshaw (and hanging out with Shah Rukh Khan). Again, it's the respect and appreciation of other cultures, along with the intentionality and detail with which the song was created, that make the song a success.

I love when artists do stuff like this. Coldplay did this in 2019 with the creation and promotion of Everyday Life, where they incorporated aspects of Arabic music and culture, performed the album live in Jordan, and even included an entire instrumental track that features a spoken-word recital of the famous Bani Adam poem by Iranian poet Saadi Shirazi. When Western musicians highlight these often underappreciated or misrepresented cultures with compassion and love, they have my respect.

Great job, Ed. I don't know exactly what you have in store for the rest of Play, but I'll be checking it out when it's released in September.