Tarkan Q & A

Since I opened this blog, and even way back before, I've been answering questions about Tarkan.

I do not profess to be an authority on the singer. I only know the man through his music and through years of helping Tarkan fans with their queries.

I've collected some of the most frequently answered ones* here:
(all links open in a separate window)

• Where can I find out more about Tarkan's personal stats and his life?
  An official biography for Tarkan had been distributed by Universal Germany on the eve of Tarkan's début English album in March 2006, Come Closer. You can still find a copy of that write up here.

  In 2010, Tarkan unveiled his official domain's new look, boasting a full biography, discography, and photo sections - including official social network accounts.

  Also available is my Tarkan Documentary, Making Moves. Take a textual and visual journey into Tarkan's life and his struggle with the Turkish media, with links to articles, music videos and pictures. Flash player is required.

  You can also find newspaper and magazine interviews, where the star has talked about his life, translated into English by me here and here.

• I love Tarkan's songs but I don't understand what he is singing about! Where can I get English translations to his song lyics?
  My English translations to Tarkan's songs can be found at my site Tarkan Translations. Along with the English song lyrics there is detailed information about each album. Flash player is required for my translations.

  There are also other sources available on the Net for translations to Tarkan's song lyrics. Click here for more.

• It is so difficult to find out anything about Tarkan on the Net. Where can I find up-to-date information about Tarkan?
  Official sources
  On the eve of his début English album Come Closer in March 2006, Universal Germany opened an artist site that did provide information on Tarkan. The www.tarkan-music.de site has since merged with Tarkan's official site, but you can still read that write up here.

  In 2010, Tarkan unveiled his official domain's new look, boasting a full biography, discography, and photo sections - including official social network accounts.

  Furthermore, Tarkan owned music production company HITT fully opened its doors to the Internet in 2006 also, and sometimes offers a calendar of concert dates for the artist.

  For other past and present official sites click here.

  Other Sources
  Other suggestions are to bookmark a few good Tarkan sites you enjoy or that you feel are updated regularly, keep checking Tarkan's own official site in the hope it will update, join an active Tarkan community, and learn Turkish so that you can trawl through the Turkish news media sites for news about the star.

  Though to begin with you could always try browsing through the right sidebar of this blog. Just look for the banner that says 'About Tarkan'. News about Tarkan published here, which includes video news reports too, aims to keep a high standard in its posts about the artist.

• Where can I get photos of Tarkan?
  In 2010, Tarkan unveiled his official domain's new look, boasting a large photo gallery.

  You can also check out my photoblog Tarkan Visual, where fans have either donated or wished to share for no particular reason a picture or photo of Tarkan with me. As I don't own them, none of the photos are watermarked with a Tarkan Visual logo. Nor do I profess to own a copyright to Tarkan's image. The pictures are there for visitors to take freely and share.

  There is also a Tarkan "Pic of the Day" section here at my blog.

  Another good way to get pictures (and information in general) is to join an international Tarkan community on the Net, and become part of a tribe, a Yahoo! group or a fan forum, where you can catch photos and like-minded individuals online.

  Turkish fans, or those non-Turkish fans that understand Turkish, may also want to try some Turkish fan forums. Click here and here.

  Finally, remember that you can use good search engines like Google to trawl for Tarkan pictures across the Net.

• Where can I get Tarkan's music and videos?
  In 2010, Tarkan unveiled his official domain's new look, boasting a full discography with music and video sections. Below I list some other ways to find Tarkan's work on the Internet.

  Listen
  To gain access to Tarkan's music is easy. Whether you want to do this legally or illegally is up to you. I am not your keeper. Just keep in mind that creating music and videos requires crews with technical skill and talent, and they all need to be paid so that they can continue to be productive.

  From 2008 onwards, the Turkish music industry and its societies have rallied together to fight the disease of piracy that has started to cripple domestic creativity, with Tarkan fronting campaigns to bring Turkish music into the digital age. Over 80,000 Turkish tracks, including Tarkan's whole archive of songs, are now available to music lovers in Turkey to be legally downloaded to the end user's PC, iPod or straight to CD. Click here for more information.

  Tarkan is also very easy to locate through legal means wherever you are in the world. Aside from online stores, even with online auctions the odds are good that there will be someone in your country with a second-hand Tarkan CD to sell. Click here for more information.

  I also recommend Tulumba.com for purchasing Turkish music. It is a US shopping site and has been rated the #1 ethnic shopping site on the Net. You can buy Tarkan's albums and even Tarkan's perfume from this site.

  There are also legal mp3 sites where you can download Tarkan's music at affordable prices.

  Watch
  Although exceptions are made, as a general rule Tarkan Deluxe does not host Tarkan's official music videos, but does host video news reports that are archived here.

  In regard to music videos, live releases, concerts, etc., his videos at this moment in time are not for sale on any video or DVD collection, although Tarkan has mentioned plans for one. Some of his music videos are available at his official site and at the Turkish subsidiary of MTV.

  For alternative or less legal means, you can join a club or forum in the Tarkan community and see what latest video is doing the rounds, or, with online video storage becoming popular, you might find an array of Tarkan videos at places like YouTube, although they sometimes get removed on copyright grounds by the major Turkish music association, MÜ-YAP. It now has its own official channel on YouTube, which hosts many of Tarkan's official videos, including the artist's earlier works.

  It is also possible to come across sellers trying to sell the videos they have downloaded off the Net on auction sites like Ebay. I don't recommend this, because it is piracy and because you're giving the seller 100% profit for something you could do yourself with a little extra effort and time. Most if not all of the videos they will be offering will be available on the Net somewhere, and are you really willing to pay silly amounts of money for some obscure footage of Tarkan that might be stuck in amongst them?

• I've found different release dates for Tarkan's first and second albums. What are the correct release dates?
  To read the answer to this, click here.

• Do you ever post any news on Tour dates? Or is there another site for current concert events?
  Difficult as it is to get verifiable concert information for Tarkan, there are a few ways to find some information on Tarkan events.

  In March 2006, on the eve of Tarkan's début English album Come Closer, Universal Germany opened an official site with a section for Tarkan tours and events. This was updated in 2007 with a re-merger with Tarkan.com after the release of the artist's Turkish language album Metamorfoz.

  In addition, when official sources distribute show dates they are posted at Tarkan Deluxe. They are published in the blog's news section and "Concert Calendar Archive", which you can access by clicking here.

• I am looking for a Tarkan song with kisses in it. Do you know what it's called?
  This is Tarkan's song "Şımarık". Tarkan's first hit in Europe in 1999, it became his signature tune and was known as the "Kiss Kiss" song because he makes kissing sounds in the song's refrain.

  Possibly the most well known cover version of Tarkan's song was Holly Valance's "Kiss Kiss". It was initially sang in English by US artist Stella Soleil, in her 2001 album Dirty Little Secret. With Tarkan's vocals, Soleil's unsuccessful version remained true to the original. Valance's version utilises an LP released DJ remix of Tarkan's song known as the Ned Devine mix, and the lyrics from Soleil's cover.

• Is it true that Tarkan's English songs were stolen and leaked over the Net?
  Demo versions of four songs were stolen. For my posts covering this issue, click here, here and here.

• Is it true that you had AMG change their original review about Tarkan's English album?
  Yes. For the background story to this, click here.

• Was Tarkan's 2006 English album a success?
  This answer depends on your point of view - read this, this and this.

• What do you think about Tarkan's English single "Bounce"?
  Again - and more importantly - what do you think about it? However, for an answer in kind, read this.

• What do you think about Tarkan's command of English? Is it any good?
  As I've recently bought the single I could have answered this question personally, but only Tarkan's stolen songs were available when I was asked this at the time. So, my friend answered it instead and you can read her opinion here.

  However, if you want my general opinion anyone's English can be good enough for a song if they take the time to rehearse. Harder to achieve is the singer's correct vocal interpretation of the song, making it translate emotionally to the listener. If Tarkan has achieved that, then it doesn't really matter if his English is gibberish to all but a few, it will still sell. This 'factor' is more important than pronunciation in a song's equation.

• I have listened to Tarkan's English single "Bounce". Does Tarkan have any future Turkish projects?
  It is safe to say that Tarkan will always have future Turkish projects. However, as it is difficult to get trustworthy news about Tarkan, there isn't really an exact answer except that, if you belong to the Tarkan community, you'll find out eventually.

  For example, in 2007 Tarkan released his sixth Turkish language studio album Metamorfoz. Click here to read what some fans thought about his end-of-year release, and click here to read my views on the album.

  A year before, towards the end of 2006, news came out that Tarkan was preparing a news Turkish language album, reportedly reuniting with Turkish pop diva Sezen Aksu after a break of nearly ten years.

  The musical reunion didn't materialise in 2007, but in past projects Tarkan has also lent his vocals to a 2006 cover version by female singer Kibariye of his 2003 song "Gülümse Kaderine" from his Dudu album.

  It is not the first time he has made a special appearance on another artist's album. He has also sang with Müzeyyen Senar (1998), Pınar Sağ (2003) and Nazan Öncel (2004).

  Tarkan also dubbed the official Turkish version of Disney's Hercules and sang the song "Go The Distance" as "Yolumdayım", in 1998.

• I didn't know that Tarkan had dubbed the Turkish version of Disney's Hercules. Where can I find out more about it?
  Click here for more information.

• I have got all of Tarkan's albums, but there are Turkish songs being shared over the Net that are not from any official releases. Where are they from?
  Firstly take note that many struggling Turkish artists will sing songs and upload to music forums, pretend its a never-before-heard Tarkan song and release it to an audience in the hope the song will become popular and raise interest in it. So you may find some "Tarkan songs" that are actually not Tarkan singing at all. For more information read this.

  However, there are some genuine Tarkan songs and they could be from various sources. For more information read this and this.

• Did Tarkan sing a song called "Down Boy"?
  No. For more information about this, click here.

• Is there a translation for Tarkan's song "Ayrılık Zor"?
  Many fans have expressed how much they like this song that Tarkan recorded for his 2005 sponsor Avea GSM and continue to ask for the translation to it. Click here.

• I know Tarkan has been covered by other artists many times, but has Tarkan ever sung any cover versions?
  For an answer to this question, please click here and here.

• How can I contact Tarkan's management or him personally?
  This is one of the most frequently asked questions asked me by people all across the world from all takes on life, from ordinary fans to people in the music profession.

  Sometimes I wish Tarkan would find the time to put up an email or get IM days going from his official site in conjunction with MSN or something, so as to give my poor fingers a rest from either having to tell people I am not Tarkan, not affiliated with him in anyway or simply just to provide the information below:-

  Read it here or here, or take a look at some links to official sites here.

• Does Tarkan own a record company?
  Yes he does. For details about this, click here.

• I want to read some articles about Tarkan, please help.
  Check the right sidebar of this blog under the 'About Tarkan' section for my articles on the pop star, or alternatively click here for a full list.

  You can also read Tarkan articles at Tarkan Translations in the Tarkan news section. Finally, there are various links to Tarkan articles across the Net in my Tarkan Documentary, at the end of each chapter.

• Where can I buy the Tarkan perfume?
  You can purchase Tarkan's perfume range for men and women at Tulumba.com, at Amazon (for men or women), or alternatively you can try eBay. Currently major distribution to well-known boutiques in Turkey or at the airport has stopped.

• What does Tarkan's perfume smell like?
  For more about this, click here.

• Is it true that an American singer called Rob Thomas covered Tarkan's "Dudu" song?
  I was amazed at the amount of the mail I received about this issue. Read the post regarding it here.

• So many people tell me Tarkan is gay? I've even read it in some articles. Is it true?
  I keep asking myself should this really be an issue? Unfortunately, people continue to make it one, so for those interested, read my answers here.

  One article did falsely report that Tarkan had admitted he was a homosexual, but I disputed it and it was consequently amended.

  If you want to read a short news summary of the 2001 "photograph scandal" that purported to show Tarkan in compromising positions with other men, click here.

• What is the dispute between Tarkan and the Turkish media?
  Scan through any Turkish media site online and Tarkan's strained relations with his domestic press is well documented. For more about his struggle with the Turkish media you can click here and here, or here and here. You may also want to read this, this and this.

• Did the Turkish government ban a music video by Tarkan because of a kiss?
  No. For what really happened read this.

• I've heard about Tarkan's active love life. Where can I get information on his girlfriends?
  Tarkan has been quoted in the press as saying that women are his inspiration to make music. If you want to read about the women he has dated, click here.

• Do you know anything about Tarkan's bodyguard Levent?
  For more information about this, click here, or read this.

  There is also a 2003 Turkish newspaper article I translated where he gets a mention. Click here.

• Who is Murat Matthew Erdem? I see his name on many of Tarkan's albums.
  For information about him, click here.

• I see the Ozan Çolakoğlu name a lot in Tarkan albums. Who is this person?
  For information about Çolakoğlu working with Tarkan, click here.

• What is the connection between Turkish actress Serra Yılmaz and Tarkan?
  She starred in one of Tarkan's music videos. For more about this, click here.

• Do you have any idea what the story is about in his music video to "Hüp"?
  Yes, I do. You can get details about the story on and in the video here.

• How tall is Tarkan?
  Tarkan says his height is 1.73. Click here for more.

• Is it possible to buy Tarkan calendars?
  Three "official" Tarkan calendars were distributed between the years 2000-2006. Click here for further information. A limited print calendar was also issued in 2008. Click here for more on that.

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* Yes, I do mean frequently answered ones not frequently asked, because many other questions have been asked frequently, but in this post are the sensible ones that I choose to answer...and I keep answering them again and again! Hence the reason for this Q & A - now I have one URL link to email people when they ask me a similar question, instead of various links I've been using since June, 2005.