Sezen Aksu

Fatma Sezen Yıldırım (born on July 13, 1954 in Sarayköy, Turkey) (known as Sezen Aksu) is a Turkish singer, songwriter and producer. Growing up in the region of Izmir, Aksu’s family discouraged her musical ambitions, and upon graduating high school, Aksu studied agricultural science at a local college, before leaving to follow her passion for music. She laid the foundations of Turkish pop music during the 1970s, with her sound reaching Balkan countries and Greece, then over time, the Europe and the United States. Aksu made her debut in 1977 with the release of her first studio album Allahaısmarladık (Goodbye), however her full discography includes 25 studio albums, including Ağlamak Güzeldir (Crying is Good) in 1981, Gülümse (Smile) in 1991, the diamond-certified Bahane (Excuse) in 2005, and Öptüm (Kissed You) in 2011, which became the second best-selling album of 2011. Known as the queen of Turkish pop, Aksu also composed songs and produced albums in different languages (including Armenian, Greek and Kurdish) for a range of performers, most notably, "Şımarık", the single that propelled Turkish singer Tarkan into stardom. Known for her social activism, Aksu is a passionate defender of causes such as women's rights, LGBTIQ+ rights, and education in Turkey, attracting controversy in January 2022 regarding anti-Christian sentiment in 2017 single, "Şahane Bir Şey Yaşamak" (How Wonderful to Be Alive).