Tarkan

Tarkan Tevetoğlu, known mononymously as Tarkan, is a Turkish singer, songwriter and producer widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern Turkish pop music. Born in Alzey, West Germany, to Turkish parents, he moved to Turkey as a child and rose to stardom in the 1990s, blending Turkish melodic and rhythmic traditions with contemporary pop and dance production. His charismatic stage presence and expressive vocal style earned him the nickname «Pop Prensi» («Prince of Pop») in Turkey.

Tarkan achieved his biggest international breakthrough with «Şımarık» (also known abroad as «Kiss Kiss»), a song that became a rare crossover hit across Europe and beyond without being sung in English, helping introduce Turkish pop to global audiences. Other major hits like «Kuzu Kuzu», «Dudu» and «Ölürüm Sana» cemented his dominance of the Turkish charts across multiple decades and generations of fans.

In the mid-2000s he attempted a full crossover into English-language pop with the singles «Bounce» and the album Come Closer, released via Universal Music, working with prominent international songwriters and producers. While that English-language project had limited commercial impact compared to his Turkish-language career, Tarkan remains one of the best-selling and most enduring artists in Turkish music history, known for combining local musical identity with polished, radio-friendly pop-electronic production.