Background
Although not her first album (preceded by Sakin Ol!, Lâ'l, Sertab Gibi, Sertab Erener, Sertab, and Turuncu), No Boundaries was Sertab Erener's first English language album. It was compiled and released by record company Columbia after Erener's Eurovision win in 2003, with the song "Every Way That I Can".
The songs on the album are composed and arranged mainly by Demir Demirkan, although some have co-writing credits for Erener, for example "Storms". "Everyway That I Can" was included on the album, as the original Turkish release rather than the Eurovision edit, although it is licensed now to Turkish radio and Television and the EBU, rather than Sony.
The next single released was "Here I Am", a song not dissimilar to the Eurovision winner, and then "Leave", an operatic song in which Erener travels five octaves to the soprano range. Both were quite large hits in Turkey and Eastern Europe although they could not come close to the mammoth success of "Every Way That I Can." The final single, "I Believe (That I See Love in You)", was written by France-based Indonesian singer Anggun.
The album was given exposure in May 2004 when a medley of "Here I Am", "Leave", and "Everyway That I Can" were performed as the Istanbul Eurovision opening act by Sertab. In June the track "I Believe" was released and it was the final release taken from the album.
Other songs on the album include "Back to the Beach" which was regarded as the album's low point, and "Got Me like Oh", which was later covered in 2006 by American singer Gia Farrell. The album was very well received by critics otherwise, who admired the Turkish music-pop combination. Sales of the album have been Erener's best figures yet, both in Turkey and outside.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2004 was the 49th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Istanbul, Turkey, following the country's victory at the 2003 contest with the song "Everyway That I Can" by Sertab Erener. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), the contest was held at the Abdi İpekçi Arena, and consisted of a semi-final on 12 May, and a final on 15 May 2004. The two live shows were presented by Turkish actors Korhan Abay and Meltem Cumbul. It was the first time that Turkey had hosted the contest, 29 years after the country made its debut, and was also the first time since the 1998 contest in Birmingham that it was not hosted in the host country's capital city.
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 making 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 together 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.
The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "Hold Onto Our Love" written by Gary Miller and Tim Woodcock. The song was performed by James Fox. The British entry for the 2004 contest in Istanbul, Turkey was selected via the national final Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up 2004, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Six acts competed in the national final and the winner was selected entirely through a public vote.
Turkey has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 34 times since its debut in 1975. Since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004, Turkey has only failed to qualify for the final once, in 2011. Turkey won the contest once in 2003, and hosted the 2004 contest in Istanbul.
Mazhar-Fuat-Özkan (MFÖ), also known by their original name Mazhar ve Fuat, is a Turkish pop and rock band with Mazhar Alanson, Fuat Güner and Özkan Uğur as members. While many of their songs poke fun at common Turkish types or satirise prejudice and corruption, others are more spiritual in nature, showing their interest in Sufism.
Turkish pop music had its beginnings in the late 1950s with Turkish cover versions of a wide range of imported popular styles, including rock and roll, tango, and jazz. This wide collection of songs was labelled as "Hafif-batı" music and included a wide range of artists, such as Frank Sinatra to Doris Day, Nat King Cole to the Everly Brothers, from Elvis Presley to Paul Anka.
Demir Demirkan is a Turkish musician, Eurovision Song Contest winning composer, formerly guitarist for thrash metal band Mezarkabul. Demir Demirkan started playing music when he was 13 and played guitar with various groups in college. Demir Demirkan also wrote television jingles and composed soundtracks for television and films.
"Sanomi" is a song recorded by Belgian six-piece band Urban Trad, written by Yves Barbieux. It is best known as the Belgian entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, held in Riga.
Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "Can't Wait Until Tonight" written by Stefan Raab. The song was performed by Max. The German entry for the 2004 contest in Istanbul, Turkey was selected through the national final Germany 12 Points!, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The national final took place on 19 March 2004 and featured ten competing acts with the winner being selected through two rounds of public voting. "Can't Wait Until Tonight" performed by Max was selected as the German entry for Istanbul after placing first in the top two during the first round of voting and ultimately gaining 92% of the vote in the second round.
Fahir Atakoğlu is a Turkish American pianist and composer who has worked with a wide range of artists across many genres of music, ranging in style from symphonic scoring to advertising jingles. He was born in Istanbul, Turkey.
Turkey participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "For Real" written by Gökhan Özoğuz and Hakan Özoğuz. The song was performed by Athena. In addition to participating in the contest, the Turkish broadcaster Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu (TRT) also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest at the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul after winning the competition in 2003 with the song "Everyway That I Can" performed by Sertab Erener.
Turkey took part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with Sertab Erener. There was no national final in 2003. Instead, TRT decided to send well-known singer Sertab Erener to Riga to represent Turkey at the Eurovision Song Contest 2003.
Ozan Çolakoğlu is a Turkish composer, songwriter and music producer; famous for his work with various Turkish pop idols and his multiple film scores. He co-founded the production company Sarı Ev, but left it in 2010 to work for dB Müzik.
Switzerland competed at the Eurovision Song Contest 1988, held in Dublin, Ireland.
Jack D. Elliot is an American record producer and songwriter, perhaps best known for works with artist like Britney Spears, 'N Sync, Backstreet Boys, Brandy, and Christina Milian.
Luxembourg was represented by French singer France Gall, with the song "Poupée de cire, poupée de son", at the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 20 March in Naples. The song, composed by Serge Gainsbourg, was chosen internally by broadcaster RTL and went on to bring Luxembourg their second Eurovision victory.
"Everyway That I Can" is the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 sung in English by Sertab Erener for Turkey. The song was written by Demir Demirkan in early 2003 and produced and arranged by Ozan Çolakoğlu, famous for his works with pop idol Tarkan. It initially proved controversial in Turkey for its subject matter and English-language lyrics, and was not initially considered a favorite to win the contest.
The following lists events from 2003 in Turkey.
This is a list of Turkish television related events from 2003.
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.
