An AI-generated song based on an Iranian revolutionary poem has gained popularity, as Iran reels from brutal government crackdown on protests as well as US and Israeli strikes against the regime.
The singer, Nava null, was created by British-Iranian artist Farbod Mehr, who is based in London and said the character has become the “voice of the times we are experiencing”.
Nava null's black bob, pale skin, blue eyes and high cheekbones were generated using archival portraits of Iran’s Qajar-era women, the faces of Mehr's female Instagram followers and imagery of women in Iranian art.
“Nava isn’t just AI. She’s a collective portrait, made by you, shaped by history, reborn through art,” Mehr said in a social media post.
In an Instagram video that has more than 13 million views – despite an internet blackout in Iran – Nava sings verses in Farsi from a poem by the 20th-century revolutionary poet Aref Qazvini.
“From the blood of the youth of the homeland, tulips have blossomed,” Nava sings. “Sleep has departed from my eyes as I gaze upon this path, rivers of tears flow, giving me no peace. Oh, heart, break from this grief, For truth is in the blood, and justice has been trampled.”
The track is already well-known to Iranians as a revolutionary song. Az Khoone Javanan e Vatan was written in the aftermath of Iran’s Constitutional Revolution in 1906 and commemorates those who died.
“It is a historical anthem of freedom and a symbol of resistance, reflecting the pain and hope of the Iranian people,” one Instagram user wrote, commenting on Nava's song.
“How well does this song fit our everlasting nation,” another user noted.
In 1979, the year of the Islamic revolution that toppled Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, traditional singer and musician Mohammad-Reza Shajarian recorded a version in his album Raz-e-Del.
Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi performed the song at the start of the Women, Life, Freedom revolution in 2022 and then again at a concert in 2024 – for which she was arrested.
Mehr said the character had accumulated over half a million followers in five months, and was averaging over 30 million views a month. He wrote on LinkedIn: “The models are free. The tools are everywhere. Anyone can generate a face. What’s rare is taste.”
Nava null was projected as a hologram during Iranian rapper Mehrad Hidden’s Dubai concert last year. “Most people still think AI influencers are a future trend. They’re wrong. The future already happened,” he said.
