Best Woman Turkish Singers
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Nil Karaibrahimgil (born 17 October in Ankara, Turkey), also popularly known simply as Nil (Turkish for the Nile), is a Turkish singer and songwriter mostly noted for her distinct lyrics. Nil's passion and admiration for music stems from her father, Suavi Karaibrahimgil, who is also a musician although he is not currently active in the Turkish music industry. In 2000, she graduated from Bogaziçi University with a degree in Political Science and International Relations. She also further received the Crystal Apple prize award twice, which recognized her achievements in advertising. Besides academic success, Nil has found fortune in the Turkish music scene. Many of her songs deal with love, marriage and relationships. On January 21, 2010, she married Sertab Erener's brother Serdar Erener near the shore of the Nile River. She has a son Aziz Arif, born in May 2014.
Up to 2007, Nil has managed to release 3 successful albums along with several singles of her own here and there. In 2002, her debut album "Nil Dünyasi" brought her into the spotlight with hits that included "Kek" and "XL". Two years later, Nil followed with another album called "Nil FM" which achieved success similar to that of her first album. Some of the hit singles released from that album included "Gitme Yoksa...", "Akbaba", "Ben Aptal Miyim?" and "Bronzlasmak" as well.
In 2006, Nil would go on to release her third album called "Tek Tasimi Kendim Aldim". The album brought Nil further success with hits including "Pirlanta", "Peri" and of course, "Organize Isler Bunlar" which is the original soundtrack of the movie Organize Isler. All of the three singles from this album managed to easily top most Turkish charts. In late 2006, Nil released a single called, "Yas 18" (Age 18) which is one of the two tracks she recorded for the soundtrack of the Turkish movie Sinav (Exam). Both the movie and the song deal with the pressure Turkish students face preparing for matriculation, as well as angst from coming of age.- Music Department
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Sertab Erener (born 4 December) is a Turkish pop music singer. In Europe, she is best known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with her hit song "Every Way That I Can".
A native of Istanbul, Erener studied opera before beginning her musical career working with Turkish music icon, Sezen Aksu.
She released her first album, Sakin Ol, in 1992, and followed it with four more Turkish-language albums over the next decade. Her album Lâ'l was included by Sony Music in its "Soundtrack for a Century" collection.
In 1995, she sang a Turkish pop version of Colors of the Wind for the Turkish dub of Pocahontas. A year later, she became the official speaking and singing voice of Esmeralda in the Turkish dub of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
After competing unsuccessfully in two national Eurovision Song Contest finals in 1989 and 1990, she was internally selected in 2003 and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, representing Turkey with the song "Every Way That I Can", co-written by Demir Demirkan. The song went on to top charts in countries all over Europe, including Sweden and Greece.
In the wake of her Eurovision success, Erener released her first English-language album, No Boundaries, in 2004. Her renditions of "Here I Am" and Bob Dylan's "One More Cup of Coffee" were used in international movie soundtracks. "One More Cup of Coffee" was used in the soundtrack to Masked and Anonymous a semi-biopic of Bob Dylan.
In 2005, Erener released a Turkish-language album named Ask Ölmez, promoted with songs such as "Ask Ölmez, Biz Ölürüz" ("Love Doesn't Die, We Do") and "Satilik Kalpler Sehri" ("City of Hearts For Sale"). She also appeared on the movie soundtrack album of Fatih Akin's Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul, with a lauded rendition of Madonna's song "Music".
On 22 October 2005, Erener appeared on Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest, a competition to choose the best Eurovision song of all time, performing the final verse and chorus of "Every Way That I Can". The song finished ninth in a field of fifteen. At the same event, Erener revealed she was to release another English language album.
In 2009, Sertab Erener and Demir Demirkan created a band called Painted on Water and they released a self-titled album in the United States on the Motéma Music label.
In 2010, she sang a Turkish version of Something That I Want for the Turkish dub of Tangled.
In 2012, Sertab Erener recorded Turkish Airlines' "Globally Yours" jingle which was used until June 2013.- Actress
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Deniz Atiye Yilmaz (born 22 November 1988), originally known by the artist name Atiye Deniz and later the mononym Atiye, is a German-born Turkish pop singer. She releases songs in Turkish and English.
The second album by Atiye was self-titled and released under Sony Music label. It spawned a number of hits for the artist. The lead single "Muamma" and the second single "Salla" became huge hits in Turkey. They peaked at respectively No.5 and No.3 at the official Turkish chart.
In 2011, she became the Best Turkish Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards.
Atiye was born on 22 November 1988 in Bremen, at that time West Germany to a Turkish father and Dutch mother and spent her childhood in Germany, the Netherlands, the United States and Turkey. She completed her high school education in Germany, studied arts at the CKE in the Netherlands and moved to Turkey in 2008. Besides speaking German, Turkish and Dutch, she also speaks English and French whilst learning Spanish.- Actress
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Candan Erçetin was born on 10 February 1963 in Kirklareli, Turkey. She is an actress and composer, known for Gölgesizler (2009), The Night, Angel and Our Children (1994) and Price of Passion (2017).- Actress
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Burcu Günes was born on 12 August 1977 in Izmir, Turkey. She is an actress, known for The Pit (2016), Inconstant Love (2019) and Canevim (2019).- Music Department
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Sezen Aksu is a Turkish pop music singer, songwriter and producer who has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. Her nicknames include the "Queen of Turkish Pop" and Minik Serçe ("Little Sparrow").
Sezen Aksu's influence on Turkish pop and world music has continued since her debut in 1975, and has been reinforced by her patronage of and collaboration with many other musicians, including Sertab Erener, Sebnem Ferah, Askin Nur Yengi, Hande Yener, and Levent Yüksel. Her work with Tarkan resulted in continental hits like "Simarik" and "Sikidim" and her collaboration with Goran Bregovic widened her international audience.
Sezen Aksu was born in Sarayköy, Denizli, Turkey. Her family moved to Bergama when she was three years old and she spent her childhood and early youth there. Aksu's parents discouraged her singing because they wanted her to have a steady profession as a doctor or engineer. She used to wait until they left the house and sing on the family's balcony. After finishing high school, she began studying at the local agricultural institute, but left college to concentrate on music.
Along with her close friend Ajda Pekkan, Aksu is credited with laying the foundations of Turkish pop music in the 1970s. Her sound has also spread across the Balkans and Greece. Aksu has also toured in Europe and the U.S to critical appraise. She has championed a variety of causes, including support for constitutional reform, minority rights, women's rights, the environment, and educational reform in Turkey. She has a son with Sinan Özer, named Mithat Can, who is also a lead vocalist of Pist'on band.
In the 80's, Aksu had a relationship with producer Onno Tunç that was both romantic and professional. As a couple they put their signatures to works that broke new ground in Turkish pop music, such as Sen Aglama, Git, Sezen Aksu'88 and Sezen Aksu Söylüyor. Her music matured in the 90's, when she co-produced her best selling album to-date Gülümse with Tunç. The A-1 track from the album called Hadi Bakalim was a hit in Turkey and Europe, and was published as a single in Germany. It was to be later rediscovered in Europop by singer Loona as Rhythm of the Night. She also began to produce albums for her vocalists, notably producing Askin Nur Yengi's debut album Sevgiliye (To a Lover) again with Tunç. She was to repeat her success with artists Sertap Erener and Levent Yüksel also.
In 2005, she was featured in Fatih Akin's documentary film "Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul" with a performance of the song "Istanbul Hatirasi", Aksu has recently been re-releasing all her old classics digitally remastered and with specially designed new sleeves.
In 2008, Aksu released her album called Deniz Yildizi through Starfish Records. And in 2009 she released her latest album Yürüyorum Düs Bahçelerinde. The album contains new original songs as well as some older songs which were composed by Sezen Aksu for other singers, most notably Çakkidi, Kibir, Yok Ki.- Jennifer Sebnem Schaefer was born on 9 February 1984 in Frankfurt, Germany. She is an actress, known for Back Streets (2006), Haydi Bitteschon and O Simdi Asker (2003).Gerçeği Şebnem Ferah
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Hadise Açikgöz is a Turkish-Belgian singer-songwriter, dancer, and television personality. Born and raised in Belgium, her family originally come from Sivas, Turkey. In 2003, she participated in the Belgian singing competition show Idool 2003, but rose to fame after releasing her debut album Sweat in 2005. The album spawned 5 singles and earned Hadise both a TMF Award (Belgium) and "Altin Kelebek" Award (Turkey). Hadise established and maintained a successful career in both Belgium and Turkey with the release of her self-entitled album Hadise (2008). The album which includes English and Turkish songs, features the single "Deli Oglan" that became a number-one hit in Turkey.
In 2009, Hadise represented Turkey at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Düm Tek Tek". The song gained a total of 177 points, placing Turkey fourth in the final round of the competition. "Düm Tek Tek" earned Hadise her first number one single in Belgium and was followed-up with the release of her studio albums Fast Life, (2009) and Kahraman (2009). The single "Evlenmeliyiz" from Kahraman was among the top-ten hits on Türkçe Top 20. She has since focused on her career in Turkey with the release of her albums Ask Kaç Beden Giyer? (2011) and Tavsiye (2014).
Her name was chosen by one of her grandparents, having originally being intended for her older sister. Hadise's parents emigrated to Belgium from Sivas, Turkey. Her mother is Kumyk and her father is Lezgin. She grew up with her older sister, Hülya, a younger sister Derya and also a younger brother named Murat. Hadise was 11 years old when her parents divorced.
Hadise studied economics and modern languages. She is fluent in five languages: Turkish and Dutch (which are her native languages), French, German and English.
At the age of 18 and with the support of her family Hadise participated in the first season of the show Idool, the Flemish version of the Pop Idol series. She failed to qualify for the finals, however, her appearance was acknowledged by her soon-to-be manager Johan Hendrickx. Hendrickx contacted Hadise explaining how impressed he was with her performance on the show and offered her an album contract.
In 2006, Hadise presented Popstar Türkiye (tr) (Turkish version of Popstars). It was her first presenting role in Turkey. From 2008 to 2009, she got a job as a presenter for the first time in Belgium. She was the presenter of the second season of Belgian X Factor at VTM. Although it was her first television job in Belgium, Hadise garnered much praise. She handled a critical moment when Maurice Engelen, one of the judges, left the contest during a live television cast. Hadise was also praised by the candidats of X Factor for guiding them. Since 2011, Hadise has working as one of the judges on the singing competition show O Ses Türkiye (Turkish version of The Voice).
Hadise has said she admires artists such as Shakira, Brandy Norwood, Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Janet Jackson, Tina Turner, Toni Braxton, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, U2 and Prince. Hadise's songs have also clearly been influenced by Turkish music, making her songs rather unusual, as it fuses R&B and Turkish pop. Examples of songs by her combining a strong Turkish slant with an Urban feel include "Stir Me Up", "Bad Boy", "A Good Kiss" and "Don't Ask". Many people have compared Hadise to American R&B singer Beyoncé. Her fans affectionately call her the most famous Turkish star worldwide.
In September 2009, Hadise donated her time in support of the "Schools without Bullying" campaign in Belgium. During a press conference held by the organization, Hadise explained how as a child she "was bullied for her cloths" and even "because of her origin". She explained that she wanted to be part of the project because she loved children and had been a graduate herself, she understood how there was no place for bullying.
Hadise has rejected two offers to star in a film. One of the parts was the leading role in a Turkish movie. Not much is known about this film, apart from the fact that the film supposedly focused on two sisters, one of whom was to be played by Hadise. In July 2008, Hadise was again offered a role in a Turkish comedy film.- Soundtrack
Bengü Erden (born 23 April 1979) is a Turkish singer. She became first familiar with music during her time at the Izmir State Symphony Orchestra. In Izmir, she was cast in a leading role in the musical "Oliver Twist". She later took singing lessons with Izmir State Conservatory's general manager, Müfit Bayras. In 1998, by performing a song by Müfit Baysara, she ranked second at the competition Pop Show '98, organized by Mü-Yap and Show TV. She then studied music at Istanbul Academy. She worked as a backing vocalist for Kenan Dogulu for three years. In 2007, Bengü became the winner of Show TV's singing competition Bak Kim Dans Ediyor. Her first album, Hos Geldin, was produced by Kenan Dogulu and Ozan Dogulu and released in July 2000. Her second studio album, Baglasan Durmam, was released in 2005. After two years, she released her third studio album, Taktik. With the song "Korkma Kalbim" from this album, she received a digital certification from Mü-Yap and the album became one of the best-selling albums of the year.
In 2009, Bengü released Iki Melek. The album sold 125,000 copies and received a gold certification. By ranking number-one on Türkçe Top 20 for seven weeks, she became one of 2009's Turkish artists who topped the music charts for a long period of time. In 2011, she released the album Dört Dörtlük. With its lead single, "Askim", she succeeded in attracting the attention of fans and critics. The song was the most-searched song on Google in Turkey in 2011. In the same year, Bengü became the "most followed artist" in Turkey. In 2012, her maxi single "Anlatacaklarim Var" was released. The song "Yarali" form this maxi single ranked number-one on Turkey's official music charts for seven weeks. Her 2013 single "Saygimdan" also topped 'Türkçe Top 20' in 2014 for five weeks. In 2014, Bengü's single "Yarali" won the "Most Played Song" award at the Turkey Music Awards.
Bengü's seventh studio album, Ikinci Hal, was released in October 2014. Its lead single, "Sahici", ranked third on Türkçe Top 20 and then remained number-one for five weeks. By topping the official music charts in Turkey for 10 weeks, she became 2014's second artist with the most number of number-one singles. According to TelifMetre, Bengü was 2014's Turkish female artist with the most number of streams on TV. Her other song from Ikinci Hal, titled "Feveran", became successful on digital platforms and received a gold certification from DMC.
From 2000, many of her songs, including "Korkumdan Agladim", "Korkma Kalbim", "Unut Beni", "Agla Kalbim", "Gezegen", "Iki Melek", "Kocaman Opuyorum", "Askim", "Saat 03:00", "Haberin Olsun", "Yarali", "Saygimdan", "Sahici", "Feveran", "Hodri Meydan" and "Sigamiyorum" have become hits. To this day she has released eight studio albums and six singles and has received various awards and nominations for her works. Among her nominations are four Turkey Music Awards and two Balkan Music Awards. She has also won one Turkey Music Award, one Mü-Yap Music Award and one TTNet Music Award.- Gülsen Bubikoglu is a Turkish actress, one of the leading ladies of Turkish cinema in the 1970s and into the early 1980s. She studied at Fatih Kiz Lisesi and was a fashion model for a time. Her first leading role was in Yaban in 1973. She and Tarik Akan formed one of the most recognized couples on the screen in the Turkish film history having acted in many romantic comedies together. She starred in many films of famous director Türker Inanoglu, whom she married later.Gerçeği Gülşen
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Nilüfer was born on 31 May 1955 in Beyoglu, Istanbul, Turkey. She is a composer and actress, known for The Pit (2016), Ehmedê Xanî'den: Mem û Zîn (1991) and Karisik Kaset (2014). She was previously married to Çetin Akçan and Yesil Giresunlu.- Music Department
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Sila Gençoglu is a Turkish singer and musician. She is mononymously known by her first name, 'Sila'.
Sila was born in Denizli. She worked before as a producer, lyricist and background singer for many Turkish artists, such as Kenan Dogulu and Emel Müftüoglu. In 2007, she released her debut album Sila. The first single, "...Dan Sonra", was the biggest hit song of the year in Turkey, spending 3 months at number one on the music charts, and reaching 79 in the European charts. The song's video was the 12th most watched video from 2007 to 2008 worldwide. The second single from the album, "Kenar Süsü", reached second place in the Turkish charts.
Sila's first national studio album. It achieved great success and helped her to win national awards with the title of "Best New Artist" and "Best New Album". Before her studio album, Sila wrote a song with the popular Turkish female artist Sezen Aksu. The song was the soundtrack of the television series Sila (2006), which is about the difficulties of an eastern Turkish woman named "Sila". After her album's success, a new television series which is airing on ATV, offered her a generic song just like "Sila", and before airing on TV, she wrote the song with Efe Bahadir.
Sila's first international studio album, a corporation with the Colombian group Ciclon as the 2nd studio album of Drum Project. The producer of the album was Ozan Dogulu. The album was released in May 2008.- Asuman Krause was born on 1 March 1976 in Berlin, Germany. She is an actress, known for Sen Ne Dilersen (2005), Ece (2008) and Dikkat Sahan Çikabilir (2005).
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Nesrin Sipahi was born on 29 October 1934 in Istanbul, Turkey. She is an actress, known for Kalbimdeki serseri (1965), Arim Balim Petegim (1970) and Persona (2018).- Actress
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Muzeyyen Senar is a Turkish singer of Ottoman classical music.
Born in Bursa, she moved to Istanbul when she was ten years old, growing up in uskudar. She stuttered as a child, but found refuge in singing.
When she was six years old, she already knew all the popular Turkish folk songs by heart. When she moved with her mother to Istanbul she entered the Anatolia (uskudar) Musical Society in 1931, which was later followed by further training at the Society of Oriental Music. Senar also found an opportunity to make the acquaintance of the most prominent composers of the period: Mustafa Nâfiz Irmak, Osman Nihat Akin, Selahattin Pinar, Yesari Asim Arsoy, and many others.
In 1932 she appeared on state radio. Senar, who could only reach the microphone if she stood on a box, quickly gained popularity, learning all the major works of the art music repertoire as she did so, and further developing her skills by what she gleaned from such major artists as Safiye Ayla, Selma Hanim, Lale Belkis, Nimet Hanim, Hikmet Riza, and Feriha Hanim.
Before long she became a subject of widespread curiosity, and nightclub owners began vying with each other to present her. She appeared in public for the first time at Ibrahim Derviszade's Belvu, an Istanbul music hall. She was only fifteen years old and had to inflate her age to get permission to appear on stage.- Actress
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Gülben Ergen was born on 25 August 1972 in Istanbul, Turkey. She is an actress, known for Dadi (2001), Hanimin Çiftligi (1990) and Av (1989). She has been married to Mustafa Erdogan since 5 September 2004.- Actress
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Füsun Önal was born on 11 March 1949 in Istanbul, Turkey. She is an actress and writer, known for Tamam mi Devam mi (1975), Aç Gözünü Mehmet (1974) and Evet mi? Hayir mi? (1974).- Actress
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Aleyna Tilki is a Turkish singer. Her father is from Konya. In some sources, Her paternal great-grandparents are of Circassian descent or of Turkic descent, who immigrated from Russia. Her mother is from Of, Trabzon. She achieved national recognition after the release of her song Cevapsiz Cinlama along with its music video, which has more than 360 million views on YouTube. It is considered the most viewed Turkish music video on YouTube. She was also a semi-finalist on the sixth season of Yetenek Sizsiniz Turkiye (Turkish version of the Got Talent series). The song went up to No. 2 on the MusicTopTR Official List. Aleyna Tilki released the first solo single "Sen Olsan Bari" in July 2017 and was number 2 again in Turkey and world chart. Another song she published on July 27, 2017 was titled "Sen Olsan Bari". She caught public attention because of her Gesi Baglari cover on the show. The singer who complete the language training were settled in the US city of Los Angeles On November 20, 2017.- Actress
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Funda Arar (born 8 April 1975) is a Turkish singer.
Funda Arar spent her early childhood in Ankara, where she was born, and later in Mugla and Adapazari. She studied at Istanbul Technical University's music conservatory, specialicizing in the mandolin. Her first album Sevgilerde came out in 1999, became a big hit, especially the song "Aysel". Sevgiliye was released a year later and included hits like "Seni Düsünürüm" and "Cesminaz" in collaboration with Kiraç. Alagül and Sevda Yanigi, her third and fourth albums came out in 2002 and 2003, which had the songs "Haberin Var mi?", "Asksiz Kal".
Arar's album Son Dans was released in December 2005 following a long break. Recently, she released the much anticipated Rüya (2008) (Turkish classical music), in which she sang songs in a variety of makams such as Hicaz, Rast, Hüzzam, Muhayyerkürdî, Ussak, Kürdîlihicazkâr, and Nihavend. In this album, she was accompanied by a master ensemble of (Turkish classical music) under the directorship of Yasar Okyay.