News Snippets: Ups and Downs
In a look back to the news stories about Tarkan doing the rounds in the last month of 2018, first up is the singer's own social media share of yet another walk in the woods.
Posting a ditty in Turkish to accompany the video of his forest trek, Tarkan wrote about the joys of being outside and "throwing yourself" into nature.
UPDATES: Tarkan: "I am a man of nature" >>
Tarkan shares another woodland trek >>
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Attracting over 800,000 views to date: "I immersed myself in nature/It made me forget my troubles/It calmed the anxiety inside me/Bringing joy to my heart once more," the singer wrote on 1 December.
Staying on the topic of nature, a left-wing journalist has taken the Turkish government to task over its green policies, while reminding his readers about Tarkan's defence of Turkey's olive groves last year against proposals to change their protected status.
Muratoğlu also praises Tarkan for not being a mouth-piece for the government, unlike other celebrities who have appeared at political functions.
Sözcü is a popular Turkish left-wing daily newspaper, aligned with secular and liberal ideals. First published in 2007, Sözcü became this year's top-selling paper nationwide, with around 300,000 copies sold daily.
On the opposite end of the scale, right-wing Islamist paper Yeni Şafak has written about Tarkan in an article of questions contestants of the Turkish version of TV game show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" failed to answer.
The question with Tarkan as an option was which celebrity is a university graduate. Tarkan is not the correct answer, as the singer failed his entrance exams in Istanbul in the 90s, and failed to graduate from New York's Baruch College, too.
Elsewhere, the Turkish language edition of news agency Sputnik, established by the Russian government-owned news agency Rossiya Segodnya, writes about the possibility of a Tarkan concert next year to help strengthen ties between Ankara and Moscow, while a celebrity site in Asia, from Singapore and Bangkok, has added Tarkan to a list of celebrities who have seemingly found "the elixir of youth".
UPDATES: Tarkan to perform in Russia (2019) >>
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Moscow"s 10-year wait for Tarkan (2019) >>
Tarkan to perform in Russia (2019) >>
The article from Asia describes the singer as a "constant favourite of women" and that he looks "just as impressive" as he did two decades ago.
Top of 2018 Lists
As is customary in December, end-of-year lists are making appearances - without Tarkan this year. It shows the artist has had a wind-down in popularity, as he takes a career break with the birth of his daughter.
Although according to radio and TV monitors Tarkan was the most played artist in the first half of 2018, the singer is absent from two lists he dominated in 2017.
The English language news site for Turkish daily Hürriyet has published streaming site Spotify's most streamed artists list for 2018, with Tarkan a no-show in the top five.
The top five slots for most streamed artists in Turkey on Spotify are dominated by rap artists this year, with only female pop stars Sezen Aksu and Aleyna Tilki representing pop music for 2018.
UPDATE: Tarkan is Most Played Male Artist of 2018 >>
And Tarkan has been knocked off ticket site Biletix's annual end of year poll this year. Selected as the "ticket of the year" three years running in 2015, 2016 and 2017, the artist was replaced this year by Turkish pop newcomer Edis Görgülü as the artist most popular with concert-goers.
Arguably, Tarkan's decision to cancel his annual open air shows at the Harbiye this autumn affected the outcome, and the music artist's popularity remains undisputed amongst the paying public: the same poll chose Tarkan as one of the most anticipated acts for 2019 concerts.
Talking Tarkan on Stage
Meanwhile, Turkish musician Melek Mosso has said that one of the greatest desires for her career is to duet with Tarkan. Revealing that she was a fan girl of Tarkan in her youth, the 30 year-old flute player and singer said that she hoped her dream would come true one day.
In other news of musical collaborations, from the hopeful to the hopelessly waiting, Tarkan's collaboration with trans diva Bülent Ersoy has still not surfaced.
UPDATES: Trans Diva says Tarkan is a DILF >>
Ersoy releases track (2019) >>
The diva spoke on daytime TV to confirm again that she would be filming a music video to the Tarkan penned track "Ümit Hırsızı" (Thief of Hope) last month, but there are news reports saying that it will be filmed this month.
The December news article, however, focuses more on what gift the diva would be buying for Tarkan's baby when she visited Tarkan and his wife on their return to Istanbul.
"No Expense Spared for Baby"
Tarkan is known for "sparing no expense" for the comfort of his baby girl, with preparations for renovations made months in advance.
UPDATES: Tarkan "bans mobile phones" for baby privacy >>
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Gold dummies for Liya >>
Reportedly dishing out the sum of 350,000 TL (£50,000/$65,000) to decorate his baby's room, the singer is said to have "spared no expense" in using natural, organic wood products for her cradle and storage ware, while utilising a colour scheme of red, white and blue.
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posted by Tarkan Deluxe at 7:20 pm
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