塔尔康

Tarkan Tevetoğlu (Turkish pronunciation: [taɾˈkan teˈvetoːɫu]; born 17 October 1972) is a German-born Turkish singer-songwriter.

Tarkan was born and raised in Alzey, Rhineland-Palatinate, in what was then West Germany. In 1986, he moved to Turkey with his family. Tarkan went to high school at Karamürsel and took music lessons. In the following years, he met the owner of İstanbul Plak, Mehmet Söğütoğlu, and signed a contract to record music.

Tarkan released his first studio album, Yine Sensiz, in late 1992, with "Kıl Oldum" being chosen as its lead single. His second one, Aacayipsin, was released in 1994, while his third, Ölürüm Sana, in 1998: the latter included the song "Şımarık" ("spoilt" in Turkish), that became popular in a number of countries, also for its English version, "Kiss Kiss". In the same year he signed a new contract with Universal Music Group, and in 1999 his compilation album, Tarkan, received platinum and gold certifications in several countries. In 2001, he made music videos for the songs "Kuzu Kuzu", "Hüp" and "Verme", from his fourth studio album Karma, while two years later, Extended Play Dudu performed well on the sales charts. With the release in 2006 of his first English album, Come Closer, he became known in Europe: from this Long Play were selected "Bounce" and "Start the Fire" as the lead singles. In 2007 was the time of his seventh album, Metamorfoz, whose lyrics of the songs included were praised by the Turkish Language Association. In 2010, his eighth studio album, Adımı Kalbine Yaz, became the best-selling album of the year in Turkey, and in 2016 was released his ninth album, Ahde Vefa, which has a Classical Turkish theme.

Early life

Tarkan Tevetoğlu was born on 17 October 1972 in Alzey, then in West Germany, to Neşe and Ali Tevetoğlu. His mother named him after the comic book character Tarkan. The name Tarkan is said to originate from an ancient Turkic king or title, meaning bold and strong. Tarkan's interest in music began in childhood.……

Career

1992–2000: Yine Sensiz, Aacayipsin and Ölürüm Sana

Tarkan's first album, Yine Sensiz, was released on cassettes by İstanbul Plak on 26 December 1992. He wrote the lyrics for three of the album's songs, and composed three other songs himself and chose "Kıl Oldum" to be its lead single. On 18 June 1993, three new versions of the album were released on CD.……

Popularity

According to Ahmet Ertegun: "He's a great dancer, he moves beautifully, and he has the magic that all big hit artists share, which is the ability to get an emotion across through a recording."

Personal life

Military service

At the height of his fame in 1999, Tarkan was called up for military service, which had been legally deferred since 1995. The deadline for beginning his service had passed in 1998, but due to contractual obligations abroad after the success of his compilation album he did not return to Turkey to do his military service.……

Relationships and rumours

Tarkan was in a relationship with a French model in the early 1990s, and with a Turkish journalist between 1994 and 1996.……

Discography

Albums

Yine Sensiz (December 1992)

Aacayipsin (May 1994)

Ölürüm Sana (July 1997)

Tarkan (International debut) (September 1998)

Karma (July 2001)

Come Closer (First English album) (April 2006)

Metamorfoz (December 2007)

Adımı Kalbine Yaz (July 2010)

Ahde Vefa (March 2016)

10 (June 2017)

Kuantum 51 (June 2024)

Other releases

Dudu (EP) (June 2003)

Metamorfoz Remixes (July 2008)

Geççek (February 2022)

Awards

• 1998 Kral TV Music Awards
• Yılın Şarkısı (Song of the Year): Şımarık
• 2001 MGD Golden Objective Awards

Yılın En İyi Pop Müzik Sanatçısı (Best Pop Singer of the Year)

2001 Kral TV Music Awards

Yılın Erkek Pop Sanatçısı (Male Pop Singer of the Year)

• Yılın Şarkısı (Song of the Year): Kuzu Kuzu
• Yılın Videosu (Video of the Year): Hüp
• 2002 MGD Altin Objektif Ödülleri