Father of the Year: Tarkan

Posted by Hatice Soylu from Istanbul, Turkey and Steffan Matrak from Moscow, Russia

In a round up of Turkish news snippets stuck on Tarkan, reports say that the singer has been selected as "Father of the Year" for 2019 by a select jury of people with special needs, while a female pop singer has become part of Tarkan's "soda pop alumni" by signing up to a sister brand of Coca-Cola.

Tarkan's Daddy nod comes from the Onur Akay Media Committee, which each year confers Father of the Year honors on celebs of pop culture, whose lifestyles are dedicated to family, charity, and social responsibility.

In its third year, The Father of the Year Award is part of a charitable organisation by a volunteer committee comprised of media celebrities from various professions to help children with special needs.

Its mission is to honor fathers who exemplify fine fatherhood values in their own homes and as business and community leaders, and to raise funds for local charities and scholarships benefiting children in need.

Meanwhile, daily paper Sabah columnist Hakan Uç has written about popstress Hadise signing up with the Fanta brand on the back of Tarkan's Coca-Cola sponsorship.

The Fanta brand belongs in the family of Coca-Cola. Fanta had signed Tarkan up for its Youth Fest in 2011 and 2012. (22 February)

In Other News: Tarkan Feeds

Elsewhere, a recent event for Coca-Cola saw the singer take a trip to sing for workers at the drink giant's Antalya factory. Tarkan gave a "private performance" evening at the five-star Sueno Hotels Golf Belek - an all-inclusive hotel golf resort in Antalya - on 22 February for the drink giant's employees.

The visit has been described as "a show of humility" by the "down-to-earth" musician. The Takvim article's photogallery shows that Tarkan patiently took time to take photos with fans, from the pilot to hotel staff, during his stay in Antalya. (26 February)

In other news stories, rumours circulating about the singer claim he has become a fan of home cooking and the cuisine hailing from his wife's heritage, while also wanting a second child as soon as possible.

Writing for Posta, columnist Serhan Sokulgan says that Tarkan's close circle of friends and his mum look very favourably on the artist having another child - and that he should not leave it so long to become a dad again. (28 February)

Tarkan remembered a leading writer's passing on social media on Thursday. Tarkan shared a photo with Yaşar Kemal, a renowned Turkish novelist of Kurdish descent, who died on 28 February in 2015. The singer wrote that he remembered Kemal "with love, respect and longing". Kemal was best known for his stories of village life and for his outspoken advocacy on behalf of the dispossessed. (28 February)

And amongst news wire claims of real celebrity couples preparing to a film their own music video inspired by Tarkan's attempt in "Beni Çok Sev", charitable events Tarkan has helped, and fans asking to marry their idols "like Tarkan", music engineer and pop artist Mustafa Ceceli has talked about how he first met Tarkan and was so starstruck he couldn't speak.

Ceceli says he met Tarkan while the artist was working on his 2010 award-winning album Adımı Kalbine Yaz (Write My Name Across Your Heart) with Sezen Aksu. A protégé of pop diva Aksu, Tarkan went on to utilise Ceceli's production talents on "Herşeye Rağmen" (Despite It All) for ENBE Orchestra's 2010 album, Kalbim (My Heart), and in 2013 on "Firuze" (Firouzeh), the classic pop hit cover for the late female lyricist Aysel Gürel's tribute album.

"I still get starstruck every time I speak to Sezen and Tarkan," Ceceli said, emphasising his adoration for the two icons of Turkish pop. (28 February)

Next up, is a tongue-in-cheek article from a columnist imagining what sort of neighbours the celebs would make if there was an apartment block for the rich and famous.

Hürriyet columnist Savaş Özbey supposes that Tarkan would not often venture out of his home, preferring his privacy. "But if I did come across him in the elevator, I would try to get a sneaky glance at his hands and feet," he writes. (26 February)

Controversial Diva Does Tarkan

Controversial trans diva Bülent Ersoy has been spotted out in Istanbul with her bespoke real fur coat. Defying animal lovers and opting to wear real fur in winter, the diva also said that she and Tarkan would be filming a music video next week - and she could wear the fur coat for filming.

UPDATES: Video to be released in March >>
Ersoy releases track >>

Tarkan has been in trouble with animal rights' campaigners about wearing real fur. He was confronted by PETA in 2008 for wearing fur on the cover of his début English language album, which persuaded the artist to stop wearing fur and appear in an ad for the animal rights organisation in 2010.

Tarkan's recent collaboration with Ersoy to track "Ümit Hırsızı" (Thief of Hope) occupied a lot of media space last year. It has still not surfaced, even though the precocious diva spoke on daytime TV in the latter half of 2018 to confirm that she would be filming a music video to the Tarkan penned track.

Ersoy has been reported as saying the video would be filmed by 18 January, with showbiz news stories quoting the diva on how Tarkan called her to politely chase after the song's development.

The song has a protracted history, with rumours in the press that the collaboration had also caused a brief crisis between the trans diva and pint-sized popstar. (25 February)

<< Singles Chart Week 8 | Tarkan News Index | Singles Chart Week 9 >>