Zerrin Özer

Known for Turkish hits like "Gönül," "Binbir Gece," and "Dayanamıyorum," Zerrin Özer is a Turkish singer whose music blends elements of pop, classical, Anatolian rock, and Arabesque. She was born in Ankara, Turkey, on November 4, 1957. Her debut single, "Sizler ve Bizler / Yalvarırım," was released in 1976, and she performed jazz music with the İstanbul Gelişim Orchestra between 1978 and 1980. Seni Seviyorum, her debut album, was released in 1980, the same year that she won a Golden Album award for her 1979 single "Gönül." Her second album, Sevgiler, was also released in 1980. Now an internationally-regarded vocalist, Özer began performing in countries like France during the early 1980s, and she expanded her catalog with solo releases like Ve Zerrin Özer (1981), Gelecek misin? (1982), Modern Arabesk (1982), and Mutluluklar Dilerim (1984). She continued winning awards, too, earning another Golden Album honor for her 1990 release İşte Ben. Remaining active well into the 21st century, she released a string of albums — including Ölürüm Ben Sana (2003), Zerrin Özel (2007), and Emanet (2009) — during the 2000s, then focused on one-off singles like 2021's "Ben Hep Buralardayım" and 2023's "Harbiden Git" as the century progressed. Her 2023 single "Basit Numaralar" was a surprise late-career hit, topping the Top 200 Shazam chart in Turkey and hitting number 8 on the country's Top 100 YouTube Music chart that summer.