Iranians embrace anthem by AI singer created by UK-based, Iran-born artist

Iranians have embraced an anthem sung by a fictional AI performer named Nava, created by London-based, Iran-born artist Farbod Mehr, as the country endures a brutal crackdown on anti-regime protests and, now in its third week, the US-Israeli air assault.

“A stirring song – sung, apparently, by a young woman, with lyrics expressing the hope that sacrifice will lead to a better future – has become a soundtrack for Iranians in the first part of 2026, as the country experienced the brutal crackdown on anti-regime protests and then the US-Israeli air assault, now in its third week”

The Guardian

The song Javanan-e Vatane (Youth of the Homeland) features lyrics by 20th-century poet Aref Qazvini and contains lines such as 'From the blood of the youth, tulips have bloomed.'

The Guardian

Nava cannot be arrested, unlike Shervin Hajipour, jailed after his Baraye became the unofficial anthem of the 2022 protest movement.

Mehr says the character represents Iranian women who cannot sing in public, and he created it, 'for the people,' adding, 'I did it for the people, and I loved how they reacted to it.'

Some online commenters debated whether Nava is real, but many found connection, with Mehr saying, 'I did it for the people, and I loved how they reacted to it.'

The fusion of a classical Iranian song with a modern French folk melody drew Iranians, and more than 70% of the views came from within Iran despite an internet blackout there.

The Guardian

Mehr, 34, a graduate of London's Central Saint Martins College of Art, moved with his family from Iran to the UK as a teenager and says his visual art blends geometric forms with Iranian mysticism.

Nava's social media persona shows a life well beyond music, as she walks around London and travels to other countries.

Nava has released an album worth of tracks over the last few months, and the song put out at the end of January—at the height of a brutal crackdown by the authorities on protesters in Iran—resonated most, first with the bloodshed on the streets, and even more so now with the bombardment by US and Israeli air forces.

“A stirring song – sung, apparently, by a young woman, with lyrics expressing the hope that sacrifice will lead to a better future – has become a soundtrack for Iranians in the first part of 2026, as the country experienced the brutal crackdown on anti-regime protests and then the US-Israeli air assault, now in its third week”

The Guardian

Blurring the virtual and real worlds further, Nava has collaborated with a real-life musician, the Iranian singer Mehrad Hidden, and in April will make an appearance on stage as a hologram at gigs in Washington and Toronto, alongside human DJs.