Sezen Aksu

Sezen Aksu, born Fatma Sezen Yıldırım on 13 July 1954, is a Turkish singer, songwriter, and producer. With worldwide album sales estimated between 10 and 20 million, she ranks among Turkey’s most successful musical artists. Fans often call her the “Queen of Turkish Pop” and “Minik Serçe” (“Little Sparrow”). Her impact on Turkish pop and global music has been steady since her 1975 debut, strengthened by her mentorship and collaborations with numerous artists, including Yonca Evcimik, Sertab Erener, Şebnem Ferah, Aşkın Nur Yengi, Hande Yener, Yıldız Tilbe, Işın Karaca, Seden Gürel, Harun Kolçak, and Levent Yüksel.

Biography

Aksu is widely recognized as a prolific songwriter. Her partnership with Tarkan produced continental hits like “Şımarık” and “Şıkıdım,” while working with Goran Bregović expanded her international reach. In 2010, NPR listed her among the world’s “50 Great Voices.” Aksu was born in Sarayköy, Denizli, Turkey. Her mother, Şehriban Hanım, taught science and came from a family originally from Thessaloniki.

Her father, Sami Yıldırım, was a mathematics teacher of Laz origin from Rize. When she was three, the family moved to Bergama, where she spent her childhood and early youth. Her parents discouraged her singing, hoping she would become a doctor or engineer. She would wait until they left home to sing on the balcony.

After high school, she studied at Istanbul University Faculty of Communication and Istanbul Technical University Turkish Music State Conservatory before dropping out to focus on music. Alongside close friend Ajda Pekkan, Aksu is credited with establishing Turkish pop music in the 1970s. Her sound has also spread across the Balkans and Greece. She has toured Europe and the United States to critical acclaim.

She has supported various causes, including constitutional reform, minority rights, women’s rights, environmentalism, and educational reform in Turkey. Aksu has married three times and divorced twice, but kept the surname from her second marriage to Ali Engin Aksu, a geology doctor now living in Canada. With Sinan Özer, she has a son, Mithat Can, who is the lead vocalist of the band Pist’on. Aksu released her first single, “Haydi Şansım/Gel Bana,” in 1975 under the name Sezen Seley.