Known for famous songs such as Talagh (Divorce), Mano Tou (Me and You), Makhloogh (Creature), and Hamsafar, Iranian legendary singer Googoosh has announced that she will go silent. The singer declared her decision through a video posted on her official Instagram and YouTube accounts.
Why Has Googoosh Chosen Silence Again?
While fans were eagerly waiting for Googoosh’s final concert, she shocked everyone with her announcement. “Everyone is waiting for my last concert in Los Angeles in December 2025, but I am not going to sing until my country is rescued,” she said. The Iranian singer added that she is “waiting for a change of regime to happen soon,” as the country faces renewed nationwide protests over economic hardship and political repression.
She expressed mixed feelings of anxiety and hope regarding the ongoing situation. “People are being brutally suppressed. The killings have not stopped. The situation can no longer wait,” she said.
In 2025, she published her memoir, Googoosh: A Sinful Voice, which provides deeper insight into these periods of silence and her life under the Iranian regime.
Googoosh: The ‘Voice of Iran’
Faegheh Atashin, widely known as Googoosh, is not just an Iranian singer. The 75-year-old artist has also worked as an actress, contributing to more than 25 Persian films released during the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Googoosh came to symbolise Iranian women of that era. One of her most influential cultural contributions was her short haircut, popularly known as the “Googooshi”, which became a major trend inspired by the pop icon.
Starting her journey as a child performer alongside her father, Googoosh later emerged as a major star in both cinema and music. The legendary singer marked an era of cosmopolitanism in late Pahlavi Iran, from the 1950s until 1979.
The Significant Turn in Googoosh’s Life
After the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Faegheh Atashin was banned from performing for almost two decades due to restrictions imposed on female singers. Despite this, her songs continued to circulate and remain popular underground. She was banned from performing for 21 years, and in 1980, she was imprisoned for nearly a month.
Googoosh left Iran in 2000 and made a sensational comeback with a concert in Toronto, marking the restart of her career from exile while living in Los Angeles. That same year, she released the album Zartosht (Zoroaster), breaking her silence for the first time in 21 years.
