Peak
28
Weeks
7
Score
740
Chart Year
2024
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The word "Azizam" is one of those delightful little treasures from the Persian language. It's derived from Aziz, meaning "beloved," with the suffix -am, which means "my." Put together, you get something wonderfully affectionate, like "my dear" or "my darling." And now it's also the title of a song by Ed Sheeran where he tells a love interest he wants to spend the night with her. "Azizam," released on April 4, 2025, is the first single from Sheeran's eighth album, Play. On it, Sheeran swaps his usual acoustic musings for a shimmering fusion of pop and Persian influences, thanks in a large part to producer Ilya Salmanzadeh - a man with a CV full of pop royalty (Ariana Grande, Ellie Goulding, Tate McRae). Ilya was born in Iran (formerly Persia) and moved to Sweden with his family when he was 11. The title and meaning of the track stem directly from his Iranian heritage. The song was sparked by a conversation between Sheeran and Ilya. The pair discovered that Persian music and Irish folk have a lot in common: unusual scales, percussive trickery, and a fondness for making you feel something deep in your ribs. Suddenly, they were off, like two kids on a treasure hunt, layering traditional instruments like the santoor (which sounds like a harp having a philosophical moment), the daf (a kind of very large, slightly judgy tambourine), and the hammered dulcimer (as lovely as it is awkward to spell) into a bright, buoyant pop track. Sheeran embraced the experiment wholeheartedly. "I love learning about music and different cultures the more I travel and connect with people," he wrote on social media. "It was like opening a door to a completely new and exciting world." It's a trick Sheeran has done before. A passionate music fan adept at identifying new commercial avenues, he has nodded to Irish folk traditions in "Galway Girl," learnt Spanish to work with Colombia's J Balvin and collaborated with Afrobeats stars like Fireboy DML and Burna Boy. Ed Sheeran approaches songwriting like a musical scavenger hunt, sometimes chasing a single phrase for minutes until it unlocks a melody. In this session, the phrase "show me how to move like the water" became a lyrical key, with Sheeran circling it repeatedly, humming and strumming until it clicked into a possible chorus. Sheeran debuted "Azizam" in classic Ed fashion: with a surprise performance in the French Quarter of New Orleans on March 15, 2025, flanked by a brass band called The Soul Rebels and clutching a heart-shaped balloon. One can only assume the balloon was essential to the mood. Sheeran paired the song with a whimsical video by Liam Pethick - who previously directed the 2022 documentary Ed Sheeran: Full Circle - showing the pop star gallivanting across the US and UK, pink balloon in tow.
chorus Azizam (get up, get up) Meet me on the floor tonight (get up, get up, get up) Show me how to move like the water (get up, get up) In between the dancin′ lights (get up) Be mine (get up), be mine (get up) Azizam verse I wanna be nowhere but here with you now I wanna be one in the space I wanna be tangled and wrapped in your cloud I wanna be close to your face pre-chorus Well, tomorrow can wait, freezin' time in this place ′Til the sun is awake, be like a magnet on me I don't care what they say, we can do it our way And if love's just a game, then come and play chorus Azizam (get up, get up) Meet me on the floor tonight (get up, get up, get up) Show me how to move like the water (get up, get up) In between the dancin′ lights (get up) Be mine (get up), be mine (get up) Azizam hook Azizam Azizam verse I wanna get lost in your ocean and drown I wanna be careless and free I wanna live here in the moment we found I wanna be all that you see pre-chorus Well, tomorrow can wait, freezin′ time in this place 'Til the sun is awake, be like a magnet on me I don′t care what they say, we can do it our way And if love's just a game, then come and play chorus Azizam (get up, get up) Meet me on the floor tonight (get up, get up, get up) Show me how to move like the water (get up, get up) In between the dancin′ lights (get up) Be mine (get up), be mine (get up) Azizam (get up, get up) Meet me on the floor tonight (get up, get up, get up) Show me how to move like the water (get up, get up) In between the dancin' lights (get up) Be mine (get up), be mine (get up) Azizam (get up, get up) outro Azizam (get up, get up) (Get up, get up) (Get up, get up) (Get up, get up) Azizam
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apr 19, 2025 | 28 | 98 |
| 2 | Apr 26, 2025 | 39 | 87 |
| 3 | May 3, 2025 | 42 | 84 |
| 4 | May 10, 2025 | 49 | 77 |
| 5 | May 17, 2025 | 49 | 77 |
| 6 | May 24, 2025 | 54 | 72 |
| 7 | May 31, 2025 | 74 | 52 |