Yunus Emre also known as Derviş Yûnus (1238–1320) was a Turkish folk poet and Sufi who greatly influenced Turkish culture. The UNESCO General Conference unanimously passed a resolution declaring 1991, the 750th anniversary of the poet's birth, International Yunus Emre Year.
Sertab Erener is a Turkish singer, songwriter and composer. With her coloratura soprano voice, she started working as a backing vocalist for Sezen Aksu, and with Aksu's help she released her first studio album in the 1990s. Because of her education in classical music, she initially had difficulties in performing pop music. Although she did experimental works from time to time, she eventually preferred to focus on making pop music instead of avant-garde works, in order to make her music heard by a larger audience. In some of her works, she combined Western music and Eastern music, and benefited from operas as well as classical Turkish music with ethnic elements. With her entrance to Europe's market in the early 2000s, many of her works were also sold in Turkey as well as European countries.
Turkey has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 34 times since its debut in 1975. The Turkish participant broadcaster in the contest is Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu (TRT). Turkey won the contest once in 2003, and hosted the 2004 contest in Istanbul. Since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004, Turkey has only failed to qualify for the final once, in 2011.
Hadise Açıkgöz is a Belgian-born Turkish singer, songwriter, dancer and television personality. Born and raised in Belgium, her family is of Lezgin-Kumyk origin who settled in 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 Golden Butterfly Award (Turkey). Hadise established and maintained a successful career in both Belgium and Turkey with the release of her self-titled album Hadise (2008). The album, which includes English and Turkish songs, features the single "Deli Oğlan" that became a number-one hit in Turkey.
Candan Erçetin is a Turkish singer-songwriter. Over the twenty five years of her singing career, she has been recognized for preparing and singing songs about human life. Despite the fact that she made her albums without much publicity, her work influenced other artists. Erçetin has released many music videos with different themes. Because her family originate from the Balkans, she has often used elements of Balkan music in her songs and works. In addition to Turkish, she has written songs in French and Greek.
Turkey was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Rimi Rimi Ley", composed by Erdinç Tunç, with lyrics by Göksan Arman, and performed by Gülseren. The Turkish participating broadcaster Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu (TRT) selected its entry through the national final 27. Eurovision Şarkı Yarışması Türkiye Finali. Seven artists and song competed in a televised show on 11 February 2005 where the winner, "Rimi Rimi Ley" performed by Gülseren, was selected by a 17-member jury panel.
The Special Forces Command is a corps of the Turkish Armed Forces, initially established as a brigade in 14 April 1992, operating directly under the Turkish General Staff. According to the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) dress code, the ÖKK, also known as the Bordo Bereliler, are noteworthy for their distinctive maroon berets. Their task is to carry out special operations that exceed the capabilities of other military units.
Turkey was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "Everyway That I Can" written by Demir Demirkan and Sertab Erener, and performed by Erener herself. The Turkish participating broadcaster Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu (TRT) internally selected its entry for the contest. The song was presented to the public on 8 March 2003 during the TRT 1 show Sayısal Gece. This was the first time that the Turkish song was performed entirely in English at the contest.
Turkey was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 with the song "Leylaklar Soldu Kalbinde", written by Samih Hodara, Figen Çakmak, and Fani Hodara, and performed by Buket Bengisu and Group Safir. The Turkish participating broadcaster Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu (TRT), selected its entry through a national final.
Turkey participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Deli" written by Kerem Özyeğen, Burak Güven, Kerem Kabadayı and Harun Tekin. The song was performed by Mor ve Ötesi. The entry was selected through an internal selection organised by Turkish broadcaster Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu (TRT).
Turkey was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1986 with the song "Halley", composed by Melih Kibar, with lyrics by İlhan İrem, and performed by the quintet Klips ve Onlar. The Turkish participating broadcaster, Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu (TRT), selected its entry through a national final.
Turkey was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1978 with the song "Sevince", composed by Dağhan Baydur and Onno Tunç, with lyrics by Hulki Aktunç, and performed by Nilüfer and Nazar. The Turkish participating broadcaster, Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu (TRT), selected its entry through a national final called Şarkı Yarışması. This was the second entry from Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest. The entry came 18th in the contest.
Turkey participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "We Could Be the Same" written by Evren Ozdemir, Fiona Movery Akıncı and Manga. The song was performed by Manga. The entry was selected through an internal selection organised by Turkish broadcaster Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu (TRT).
Başıbozuk is the mix album of Turkish alternative rock band Mor ve Ötesi. It was released on 24 November 2008. The first three tracks are all candidate songs that Mor ve Ötesi had for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade, Serbia when they were selected to represent Turkey; Of those, Deli was selected. The rest of the songs in the track are remixes and live performances.
Turkey was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Live It Up", composed by Kutlu Özmakinacı, with lyrics by Ergün Arsal, and performed by the band Yüksek Sadakat. The Turkish participating broadcaster, Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu (TRT), internally selected its entry for the contest.
Can Bonomo is a Turkish-Jewish singer who represented Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
İlhan İrem was a Turkish singer and songwriter.
Esin Afşar was a Turkish singer and stage actress.
"Git" is a song from Candan Erçetin's sixth studio album Kırık Kalpler Durağında. The song's lyrics were written by Cemal Safi and composed by Erçetin. It is arranged by Alper Erinç. The third music video of the album was shot for "Git" in 2011, directed by Bozkurt Bayer and Cihangir Ateşağaoğlu.
Turkish pop singer Sertab Erener's discography consists of eleven studio albums, two live albums, three compilation albums, one cover album, three extended plays (EP), and fifteen singles. After graduating from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, she worked as a backing vocalist for Sezen Aksu, and released her first studio album Sakin Ol! in 1992, which sold more than a million copies. In 1994, her second studio album, Lâ'l, was released, followed by Sertab Gibi in 1997.
