Diva Drops Tarkan Track

Posted by Kaya Turan from Rochester, UK

Yesterday saw diva Bülent Ersoy drop her Tarkan penned track "Ümit Hırsızı" (Thief of Hope) on streaming sites.

Although expectations of a duet between diva and megastar were high, Tarkan only features as backing vocals for the chorus. He has owned the song, however, by publishing the music video on his official YouTube channel.

Resting mainly on Middle Eastern motifs in terms of melody and visuals, the Turkish press have described the song as "the collaboration of the year".

UPDATE: Reactions and refusals in the press >>

But amongst the praise in print, some critics have pointed out that the director of the music video seems to have borrowed visually from a 2016 video "Hymn for the Weekend" - a song by British rock band Coldplay with uncredited guest vocals from American singer Beyoncé.

The news stories have headlined similarities as a Turkish take on African and Indian motifs, while suggesting that it shows Ersoy as being "an admirer of Beyoncé".

Arguably, the artistic decisions are not Ersoy's but the director of the video, who obviously took inspiration from the Coldplay video.

Tarkan Track's Troubled History

A day before its digital release, Ersoy and Tarkan dropped teasers to their long awaited collaboration, which has had a torturous path to see the light of day.

The song's protracted history caused a brief crisis between diva and popstar. The eagerly anticipated studio collaboration had been rumoured to be slated for release as far back as June last year, with delays reportedly over a change in musical direction.

The musical arrangements by pop music producer Ozan Çolakoğlu were said to have been passed over for Turkish classical maestro - and diva favourite - Taşkın Sabah.

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