Serj Tankian Calls Out Imagine Dragons for Booking Concert in Azerbaijan

Earlier this year, the lead singer of the band System of a Down, Serj Tankian, called out some famous artists for making a country called Azerbaijan look better than it really is. He said they were helping to hide the bad things the country does by performing there. Now, he’s upset with a really popular pop-rock group. He tried to tell them not to perform in that country, but they didn’t answer him. Tankian explained what happened when he tried to talk to Imagine Dragons. He also shared the letter he sent them, asking them not to do a show in that country.

In June of this year, Tankian got into a conversation on Twitter with someone who posted a video about famous artists performing for rulers who do bad things in different countries. The person who shared the video with Tankian said that these artists who don’t know what it’s like to live under a ruler like that make the rulers look better and make it seem like their bad actions are okay. Tankian agreed and said that many artists, including Rihanna and Formula 1, were helping to make the rulers of Azerbaijan look good, even though they’re doing bad things.

Tankian is worried about Azerbaijan because he cares a lot about Armenia, which is a country nearby. He and his bandmates in System of a Down have spoken out about issues related to Armenia before. In 2022, they talked about a bombing that happened in Armenia, and Tankian wrote an article about why leaders from around the world haven’t helped during the problems with Azerbaijan. He often shares his thoughts on his YouTube channel too.

Tankian wrote a long message on his social media to tell everyone that he talked to Imagine Dragons. He found out that the band was going to do a concert in a place called Azerbaijan on September 2nd. Tankian thought that maybe the band didn’t know about the bad things happening there, so he tried to tell them. He sent them a nice letter explaining why it’s not a good idea to perform there. He even gave them some articles to read, like one from Amnesty International. But guess what? They didn’t write back or say anything. Tankian was pretty disappointed. He wanted them to understand that playing in that place would make the rulers there look better, even though they’re doing mean things.

Tankian also talked about a big problem in another place called Nagorno-Karabagh. There are people there who don’t have enough food to eat, and it’s getting worse. He thinks it’s important to talk about this problem and make sure people know about it. Tankian says that maybe Imagine Dragons felt like they had to do the concert for legal reasons, or maybe they just didn’t care about what he said.

The System of A Down singer continues, “My whole life I have been an advocate for genocide recognition and have always said there has to be a price to pay for Genocidal regimes or deniers. Another genocide is looming by Azerbaijan and while this happens they get to enjoy an American band from LV. Fuck that! That’s not right.”

Tankian shared a Change.org petition that is asking the band to reconsider as well as what he initially wrote to the group hoping to change their mind. You can check out Tankian’s full posting that includes both below.