Iranians embrace anthem by AI singer created by UK-based, Iran-born artist | Iran
A stirring song, apparently sung by a young woman whose lyrics express the hope that sacrifice will lead to a better future, has become a soundtrack for Iranians in the first half of 2026 as the country experiences a brutal crackdown on anti-regime protests followed by a US-Israeli airstrike, now in its third week.
However, the singer called Nava is an artificial intelligence product created by London-based Iranian-born artist Farbod Mehr.
Nava cannot be arrested, unlike Iranian singer Shervin Hacipour, who was jailed after his song Baraye became the unofficial anthem of the 2022 protest movement.
Mehr said the character represents Iranian women who cannot sing in public. “I did this for people and I loved how they responded to it,” he said.
“Tulips bloomed from the blood of youth,” Nava sings. The song, Javanan-e Vatane (Homeland Youth), features lyrics by 20th-century poet Aref Qazvini, whose works evoke resistance against authoritarianism and imperialism. Viewed 13 million times on Instagram alone.
Nava has released an album of tracks in the last few months. But it was a song released in late January, at the height of the authorities’ brutal crackdown on protesters in Iran, that resonated most first with the bloodshed in the streets and now even with the bombardment by US and Israeli air forces.
There was some debate in the online comments to Nava’s songs about whether the singer was real or not, but for others it made no difference.
“People want to see themselves in this character. The brain is trying to find a connection with the character,” Mehr said. “It became the voice of the times we live in.”
He said the blend of a classic Iranian song with a modern French folk melody attracted Iranians everywhere, with more than 70 percent of views coming from Iran despite the internet outage.
Combining visual art and geometric forms with Iranian mysticism, 34-year-old Mehr, a graduate of London’s Central Saint Martins College of Art, moved from Iran to England with her family in her youth. He said he felt hope and sadness while watching the war from afar.
Nava’s social media persona shows a life well beyond music as she wanders around London and travels to other countries. Further blurring the virtual and real worlds, Nava has collaborated with a real-life musician, Iranian singer Mehrad Hidden, and will perform as a hologram at concerts in Washington and Toronto alongside human DJs in April.
