Yıldız Tilbe is a Turkish singer and songwriter. She was born on July 16, 1966, in the city of İzmir. She was born into a Kurdish and Zaza family and began performing at a young age, leaving school in the second grade to pursue a musical career. In her teens, she began performing in various nightclubs in İzmir and later served as a backing vocalist for the popular singer Sezen Aksu in the 1990s. This led to a move to Istanbul, where Yıldız Tilbe began to perform live and record with Aksu on a regular basis. After a few years, Yıldız Tilbe parted ways with Sezen Aksu and started performing in Istanbul nightclubs. She appeared on Cem Özer's show Laf Lafı Açıyor, which considerably raised her profile. Her debut album as a solo artist, Delikanlım, was released in 1994. It became a massive hit, going on to sell over 600,000 copies in Turkey. This was followed by Dillere Destan (1995), Aşkperest (1996), and Salla Gitsin Dertlerini (1998), continuing to build her career and develop a reputation for her emotional eastern-tinged songwriting. Over the course of the next decade, she released successful albums such as Gülüm (2001) and Haberi Olsun (2002). In 2010, she released the song "Hastayim Sana," a single from the album of the same name. An emotive and rhythmic ballad, the song went on to become one of Yıldız Tilbe's most popular songs. She has stayed active in the music scene, delivering well-received releases such as Oynat (2016), Bir Seni Tanırım (2018), and Seninle Derdim Çok (2020).
