News Snippets: Family Affairs

Posted by Hatice Soylu from Istanbul, Turkey and Kaya Turan from Rochester, UK

The Turkish press have caught Tarkan back in Turkey having dinner with celebrity friends.

A week back in Istanbul, the singer was spotted leaving a restaurant with his wife, after having dinner with his friend, pop singer Kenan Doğulu.

Tarkan's wife hid her face from reporters, while Tarkan reportedly asked the paps how they managed to find them.

"Being a dad is awesome," Tarkan told reporters, amidst rumours that the artist recently rejected a 1m TL deal to perform in Azerbaijan for the New Year, choosing to spend it with his wife and daughter.

Elsewhere, Doğulu's wife, actress Beren Saat, who was caught leaving a friend's birthday bash a few days later, was asked about the dinner. She declined to comment.

Meanwhile, trans diva Bülent Ersoy has mentioned Tarkan while on stage, to say that fatherhood becomes Tarkan.

"He looks even more handsome. I send him and his family all my love," she said.

Another female singing celebrity currently name-dropping Tarkan is his career-long friend, music producer Ozan Çolakoğlu's wife, popstar Gülşen.

Having just dropped a single with her husband, it's reported that Tarkan called her to congratulate her over her new single as being "out of the box", while Gülşen said she is going to introduce her son to Tarkan's daughter soon.

She also told reporters she had recorded her latest track out of jealousy of Tarkan. So envious is Gülşen of her baby memorising Tarkan's song lyrics, she decided to release something for her son, too.

UPDATE: Çolakoğlu: Baby boy listens to Tarkan at home >>

However, it seems not all the new generation in Turkey listen to Tarkan: One time Turkish top model Deniz Akkaya says her daughter is more in to Youtubers.

"She only knows Tarkan because I took her to one of his shows," Akkaya said.

And if you're on Instagram, chances are that you've seen Amanda Cerny. Originally known for her massive following on the social media platform Vine, she has exploded on YouTube and Instagram, where she has over 23 million followers, because of her popular comedy videos.

After a recent sponsored trip to Turkey, where Cerny has a huge following and is known affectionately as Amanda yenge ("Auntie Amanda") she shared a video showcasing a collection of newspapers that put her trip on the front page. The music used as a backdrop was Tarkan's instantly recognisable signature tune, "Şımarık" (Ölürüm Sana, 1997).

Finally, a sad bit of news is the story that one of the dancers who appeared in Tarkan's "Yolla" music video may have committed suicide over money troubles.

Falling to his death from a balcony, the award-winning dancer lost his mum two years ago and apparently told friends to "look after his dad" before jumping to his death.

The news of his suicide was met with surprise by some family members, however, believing the young man's death to be accidental.

Award-winning salsa dancer Cem Demir was engaged and planning to get married next year, and preparing to go into the army in December to carry out his military service.

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