Tarkan was born in Alzey, West Germany, to Ali and Neşe Tevetoğlu, and was named after a popular 1960s Turkish comic book character The name is said to originate from an ancient Turkic king or title, meaning bold and strong In 2009 it was discovered that Tarkan was in fact his middle name and his first name was Hüsamettin, which means "sharp sword".
His parents were part of the generation of Turkish immigrants that came to West Germany during that country's economic boom. His father's family has a decorated military past as war heroes that fought in the Ottoman armies in the Russo-Turkish Wars[9], while his mother's family comes from a long line of talented Turkmen folk singers. Tarkan chose to cover a song in 2003 by Turkish minstrel Aşık Veysel Şatıroğlu as a nod to his roots. In the early stages of his career he was seen sporting a necklace with the crescent and star, a Turkish symbol of national pride, making it a fashion accessory amongst the Turkish youth- as the entertainer Madonna had done globally with the crucifix.
Tarkan has three older half-siblings named Adnan, Gülay and Nuray from his mother's first marriage, and a brother, Hakan, and younger sister, Handan from her marriage to his father. Although Tarkan was raised in Alzey until the age of 13, his father Ali suddenly decided to move the family back to Turkey in 1986. His father died of a heart attack in 1995 at the age of 49, and was buried in his home village of Rüzgarlı Köy, in the Turkish district of Ikizdere in the Rize Province situated in the Turkish Black Sea region. His mother later married an architect, Seyhun Kahraman. Tarkan keeps close ties with his family in Turkey and Germany. He still understands the German language though speaks little, since he has been living in the USA and Turkey for 20 years
Tarkan has charted both in Europe and in the Americas with his definitive song "Şımarık" (Spoilt/Kiss Kiss/Chanson Du Bisou/Besos). As a result of its widespread success and immediately recognizable sound of Tarkan kissing on the track, "Şımarık" was reincarnated into English as "Kiss Kiss" by Stella Soleil and later Holly Valance (which notched her a UK number one hit), after the composer Sezen Aksu sold the music rights. It has been covered by various artists across the world in various languages. Another successful Aksu collaboration was the hit single "Şıkıdım" (Shake). His entry into the European musical consciousness started a Turkish pop boom in Germany and Turkey in the 1990s, with his European successes signalling that the musical borders between Turkey and Europe, more specifically Germany, were dissolving. Because of his success, he became the prime example of Turkish pop obtaining an audience outside Turkey. Over the years his works have maintained their popularity, with Tarkan's 2007 studio album Metamorfoz selling over a quarter of a million copies in the first two weeks of its release on December 25, 2007.
When the Tevetoğlu family relocated to Turkey, Tarkan began to study music in Karamürsel at high school, before being accepted at the Üsküdar Musiki Cemiyeti Academy in Istanbul. After his family moved to Istanbul in 1988, he began to prepare for University entrance exams in 1990, but had a difficult time in Istanbul with little money, and worked in low-paying jobs including a stint as a wedding singer. Music legend has it just as he was preparing to return to Germany, he met Mehmet Söğütoğlu, chairman of the record company İstanbul Plak.[citation needed] Produced by Söğütoğlu, his debut album Yine Sensiz (Without You Again) sold 750 thousand copies after its release in December 1992.[citation needed] For the album he had teamed up with then little known songwriter-composer Ozan Çolakoğlu, who later co-produced his albums. Tarkan's debut provoked mingled feelings among the Turks, but it seemed that young people in Turkish cities who were satisfying their hunger with new sounds from Westerns acts such as Michael Jackson and U2 were looking for their own home grown idol. Considered rebellious for his lyrics, his dressing style and his earrings by traditionalists made him even more attractive to the young. Although his debut album was not extraordinary when compared to other pop albums of the period, what distinguished Tarkan from the earliest days of his musical career was his unique style and image
Şıkıdım era (1994-1996)
The success of Tarkan in the early 90s was seen by some as a sign of growing admiration for Western music, and the artist's real success came two years later. Collaborating with Turkey's "little sparrow", prominent producer and songwriter Sezen Aksu, Tarkan's highly anticipated second album Aacayipsin (Oh - You're Something Else) sold more than two million copies in Turkey and 750 thousand copies in Europe.[citation needed] Such high European sales were a first-time feat for a Turkish performer. Aksu wrote two songs for the album, the radio friendly "Hepsi Senin Mi?", which was later relicensed as "Şıkıdım" (Shake) for the European market, and a pop-rock number "Şeytan Azapta". "Hepsi Senin Mi?" incorporated shaky Turkish rhythms and lyrics of pure slang, and in the video to the song Tarkan slanted his body to the rhythmic melody of the song while displaying a naked chest. This was considered to be bold and daring in the newly opening but still conservative Turkish music industry. Building on his taboo-breaking and rebellious image, the video to "Şeytan Azapta" incorporated scenes from the tour that followed, where dancers would strip Tarkan naked on stage. This erotic persona was enhanced by the artist posing naked and semi-naked for the most popular Turkish magazines of the period, including becoming the first male to make the front cover of the domestic edition of the Cosmopolitan (Cosmo).
In 1994 he experienced a dip in the new found celebrity status the album had generated, when he made a live broadcast gaffe on private Turkish TV channel ATV's anniversary celebration during an interview. His response when asked how he was, captured live on camera, was "Çişim var, ağabey." ("I've gotta pee, man.") He was publicly criticised for the comment and only after performing traditional songs on another TV special did he endear himself again to the nation.
In part to remove himself from media scrutiny, Tarkan moved to New York, USA in 1994 to complete his education at Baruch College and learn English in the U.S.During this period he filmed a video to another song from his second album, "Dön Bebeğim", in New York. Again Tarkan stripped for this project, but this time he wasn't alone. Sharing a bed with a female American model for the slow love song, the opening scenes of the video show the two naked and simulating the aftermath of a love scene. Unused sex scenes from the video are still aired on celebrity entertainment programmes from time to time in Turkey. While in America, he met the Turkish founder of Atlantic Records, Ahmet Ertegün, who had seen him perform in Istanbul at the celebrations of the TV-station during which he had made his speech gaffe. Tarkan has described Ertegün as his mentor in music and business. Ertegün, who died in December 2006, had long been preparing Tarkan for an American career, but Tarkan re-started his English debut album several times.
[edit] Universal kisses (1997-2000)
In July, 1997 the hit song "Şımarık" kick started promotions in Turkey for his third studio album Ölürüm Sana (I'd Die For You). This album took a total of three years to complete. Tarkan collaborated once more with Aksu and music engineer Çolakoğlu for the album, which would go on to become his highest grossing album and win the artist his first music industry award for his song "Şımarık". In Turkey alone, Ölürüm Sana sold 4.5 million copies. However, it was only an indication of things to come.[[citation needed]
Signed by the French branch of recording label PolyGram (now Universal Music) after the single "Şımarık" was released in Europe in 1999, Tarkan reached number three in places like Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, and Germany the song also reached number one in Belgium. He was awarded a gold disc at the Cannes Midem Awards. As the first artist of Turkish origin to sell 500,000 albums in France, in an interview for CNN he said: "It feels wild, you know, because in the beginning I never thought it was going to really happen. It's all in Turkish, you know, and nobody understands a word. But I think it's a groove. It's the kisses that are universal."
Following the success of the single, Tarkan released a compilation album for Europe entitled Tarkan. He won a World Music Award in Monaco for its rapid sales. He released two more singles in Europe under the Universal ticket: "Şıkıdım" and "Bu Gece" ("Tonight").[citation needed]
Tarkan travelled throughout Europe and Latin America to promote his music. Appearing in Ukraine, Morocco, Tunisia and Russia, he gave a total of eighteen concerts in seventeen European cities. In Latin America the album provided Tarkan with a strong fan base, especially in Mexico, where Universal Music funded a promotional tour at the end of 1999.However, this visit had to be postponed until the second week of March 2000, because Tarkan was called up for military service, which he had suspended to allow for studies in New York. In 2000, the self-titled album was released in the USA with a Universal Latino ticket. Sales went platinum in Latin America.
This album was also to mark an end in his successful musical partnership with Aksu and temporarily end friendly relations between the two artists. A copyright dispute erupted between Tarkan and Aksu over the track "Şımarık", which ultimately blocked the singer's chance to release an English-language version of the song. The music was initially credited as composed by Aksu, Tarkan and Çolakoğlu, but Tarkan later admitted in a 2006 interview that this had been done without Aksu's consent, who was the true copyright owner.During the dispute, Sezen Aksu released the publishing rights instead to other artists, including Holly Valance.
[edit] Military service
At the height of his fame in 1999, Tarkan was called up for military service, which had been legally deferred since 1995. The deadline for commencement had ended in 1998, but due to contractual obligations abroad after the success of his compilation album he did not return to Turkey to do his military service. The media discussed whether Tarkan should be viewed as a deserter and stripped of his citizenship; even the Turkish parliament discussed the issue. After the August 1999 earthquake shook Turkey, the 28-day military service was passed, which allowed for a very short term of service provided that those covered by the law paid $16,000 for the benefit of the earthquake victims.Tarkan returned to Turkey in 2000 and took advantage of this law, completing his service in twenty-eight days. Before entering the army, he gave a return concert in Istanbul, the benefits of which were donated to an earthquake victims' fund. Of his time in military training, he said
