October 14, 2022
The Iranian protest song in response to the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody is flooding the submission box for the Grammys’ newest special award category.
A campaign on TikTok urged users to nominate the anthem, Baraye, for one of the Recording Academy’s new special merit awards, which honors a song dedicated to social change. Baraye has received 95,000 nominations, or over 83 percent of the 115,000 total submissions for the award, the Recording Academy said.
Iranian musician Shervin Hajipur composed the song from tweets and other social-media posts from protestors.
Hajipur was arrested after he shared the song on social media and it became an instant hit in Iran.
The song was removed from Instagram after his arrest and Hajipur was released on bail. But the song has since been uploaded to YouTube and other social media platforms.
The special merit award is meant to honor a song “that has had a profound social influence and impact,” the Recording Academy said on its website. The submission window closed October 14. The Recording Academy was “deeply moved” by the social media campaign, Chief Executive Officer Harvey Mason, Jr. said in a statement. “While we cannot predict who might win the award, we are humbled by the knowledge that the Academy is a platform for people who want to show support for the idea that music is a powerful catalyst for change.”