| Hande Yener | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Makbule Hande Özyener |
| Born | January 12, 1973 |
| Origin | Istanbul, Turkey |
| Genres | Pop, electronic |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | Poll Production |
| Website | Hande Yener official site |
Hande Yener (born January 12, 1973 in Istanbul, Turkey) is a Turkish pop singer. Over the past decade, she has introduced different styles to the ever expanding Turkish pop music scenery. Each one of her albums has generated a lot of interest as well as anticipation due to the different styles, genres and rhythms that she incorporates into her music. Besides the different experiments Hande tackles with music, her looks and image are also going through a constant change which blends with the sort of music she releases at the time. Hande was nominated for Best Turkish Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2008, only to be beaten by Emre Aydın. She has sold close to 17 million albums all over the world.
In 1992, Hande Yener met Hülya Avşar, who was shopping at the department store she worked at. Hülya Avşar would arrange for a meeting with her to meet Sezen Aksu, who would eventually invite her to audition in order to work with her on her upcoming album. Hande went on to be hired and quickly become Sezen Aksu's assistant and back vocalist for her album, "Deli Kızın Türküsü" (Folk Songs of a Crazy Girl). This gave her the first stepping stone into the music industry, as working with Aksu allowed her not only to gain some experience as an artist, but also play contributions to producing some of Sezen's famous albums during the 1990s.
Hande would go on to work with Sezen as a back vocalist for two years. Afterwards Hande managed to establish herself not only some experience, but also a recognizable name as those that work as vocalist for Sezen tend to attract some attention for being chosen as worthy artists. It took some time for Hande to finally release her first album in 1999 which called, "Senden İbaret" (All About You).
The first single released off from the album was called, "Yalanın Batsın" (Damn Your Lies). It was a dance track that spelled instant success. This was considering that it managed to skyrocket right to the top of most Turkish charts, allowing it to become an instant club hit. The second single that followed from this album was, "Yoksa Mani" (If There Isn't An Obstacle). It too managed to attract a lot attention, as it was a pop track that accompanied some eastern-sounding elements to it.
The success behind "Senden İbaret" was so successful, that it prompted a single release called, "Extra" in 2001. This CD single featured different remixes to songs that appeared on her first album, along with a couple of new tracks as well. It managed to do surprisingly well for a single, as Hande's popularity had just begun to pick up steam.
Later in 2001, Hande's second album came out and just when she may have thought that she's seen it all, her success managed to further skyrocket with "Sen Yoluna... Ben Yoluma..." (Go Your Way...I Will Go Mine...). The album incorporated a lot of ethnic and traditional music with those of modern pop. With singles like, "Sen Yoluna... Ben Yoluma..." and "Küs"; Hande's popularity seemed to show no end. Her success can be witnessed as she performed at sold-out concerts not only in Turkey but also abroad. That, plus she has been recognized as being one of most likely artist to continue on a successful musical career for years to come. Indeed, this would prove to be the case in the release of the albums to follow.
Later on, Hande would return back into the music industry with the release of, "Aşk Kadın Ruhundan Anlamıyor" (Love Doesn't Understand a Women's Soul) in 2004. Her third album, which had six hits all over Turkey included, "Acele Etme" (Don't Rush), "Kırmızı" (Red), "Acı Veriyor" (The Pain it Gives), "Armağan" (Gift), "Hoşgeldiniz" (Welcome) and "Bu Yüzden" (Because of That). Other tracks that became radio hits across Turkey included, "Savaş Sonrası" (After the War) and "Aşk Kadın Ruhundan Anlamıyor". "Aşk Kadın Ruhundan Anlamıyor" brought success to Hande in some countries outside of Turkey as well. Hande's 3rd album is arguable one of her best as it featured ranging genres stretching from "Acı Veriyor"'s rock ballad to "Acele Etme"'s Oriental dance beats. Nonetheless, this album's popularity presisted for over 2 years.
Although her previous album was a huge success, Hande decided to improve and refine her music style once more. She would leave the Türk pop, paving the way to incorporate a more dance-friendly Euro Pop sound, along with changing her appearance as well. She cut and dyed her black from blonde. The result was "Apayrı" (Totally Different), which came out in early 2006. Some of the hit singles that came out from "Apayrı"" included, "Kelepçe" (Handcuffs), "Aşkın Ateşi" (The Fire of Love) and "Kim Bilebilir Aşkı" (Who Can Guess What Love Is). Each of these singles featured different genres that simply wowed Turkey. "Kelepçe" had a groovy disco sound to it. "Aşkın Ateşi" was a sweet pop track and "Kim Bilebilir Aşkı" featured a Far-Eastern sound that had hints of techno felt throughout the song. It was claimed that this album sold 150,000 copies within 5 days. Other sources state that Apayrı sold 165.000 altogether in 2006.
Later on, as the popularity of "Apayrı" spread all around Turkey, Hande decided to release a maxi-single containing songs composed with her new musical style (which would be also her first maxi-single released). The result was "Hande Maxi", which also gained popularity. "Hande Maxi" contained three new songs as well three remixes. The three new songs had a more electronic and trance sound in them, hinting another change in her musical style. One of the new songs, "Biraz Özgürlük" (A Little Freedom), has gained popularity.
After Hande Maxi, with its electronic and trance sound, Hande continued with that sound releasing "Nasıl Delirdim?" (How Did I Go Mad?) on the 15th May, 2007. The album included numerous tracks written and composed by Sezen Aksu. The first single featured was called, "Kibir" (Arrogance). The album was released with 72,000 copies and four different covers which included 3-dimensional artworks. The copies released later fashioned only one of these four covers. The themes on the album were mostly about a woman's worries about relationships dealing with about paranoia, letting go, being sad or mad and selfishness. The second single was almost obvious when the first single came out. It was called, "Romeo"; a song co-written by Hande herself, dedicated to her boyfriend. "Yalan Olmasın" (Without a Lie) was released in January 2008 as a third, and final, single with accompanying music video. It did not achieve much succes, however, for it did not chart at all in Turkey.
In April 2008, it was announced that Hande has finished working on her new studio album. The album, "Hipnoz" (Hypnosis), was released in July 2008, and is, like Nasıl Delirdim?, from beginning to end full of electronic sounds. The album didn't sell as well as her previous albums, having sold 40.000+ copies. The title track served as the lead song, as well as being the only single coming from that album. Like the album, Hipnoz didn't do well, reaching the #10 position in the Turkish chart, according to Nielsen Music Control.
However, not tired of electropop yet, Hande released Hayrola? (What's Going On?), being released on the 6th of April, 2009. The album contains, yet again, 10 tracks, all in the style of electropop. It was her first, and as it turned out only, album on the "Avrupa" label. For "Hayrola?", which is recorded in the UK, Hande has worked with electronic composer Erol Temizel, and 9 of the songs have lyrics written by Hande Yener herself (with "Siz" being the exception, for that song is written by Aylin Aslım). The main themes of the album are women breaking down taboos and traditional values, the inability to embrace different lifestyles and the complex mechanisms of attraction. The album almost equaled the sales of Hipnoz, having sold 37,000+ copies. The lead single, as well as the only single released from this album, title track Hayrola? did better than her two previous singles, reaching #3 on the Turkish music chart.
On the first of April, 2010, being blonde again and having left Avrupa Müzik, now being part of the music label of Poll Production, Hande released yet another album, called Hande'ye Neler Oluyor? (What's Going On With Hande?). Before she released this album, she has been cited that she would likely return to a more pop-oriented sound, meaning letting go of the prevailing electronic sound of her last three albums and her EP Hande Maxi. Although not a collection of pure electronic songs, the album didn't throw the electronic sound completely overboard — it actually contains no live instrumentation — favouring a more dance-pop oriented album, reminiscing of some songs of her Apayrı-era, over the more Türk pop albums in the early days of her career.
The album contains 11 songs and 3 remixes, making a total of 14 songs, all of which are written completely by Sinan Akçıl, a Turkish composer, songwriter and music producer perhaps best known for Hadise's ESC 2009 song Düm Tek Tek. The album has sold more than 50.000 copies in the first week of its release,[1] and went on selling 60,000+ in its third and fourth week.[2]
Hande'yle Yaz Bitmez is the third maxi single by Turkish pop artist Hande Yener, released by Poll Production[3] The CD consists of one new song, "Uzaylı" (Alien), being her new single, two remixes of that same song, and eight remixes of songs from her previous album "Hande'ye Neler Oluyor?", all written by Sinan Akçıl.[4][5]
Her latest album is called Teşekkürler (Thank you). Hande worked together with Sinan Akçıl. The album consists of 12 songs. The first single of the new album is called Bana Anlat.
In September 2007, the single of, "Aşk Beni Hep Değiştirecek" (Love Will Always Change Me) was released by Harun Kolçak. The song gave Harun a noticeable breakthrough, as it was written by Hande and composed by Erol Temizel, who is also responsible for compsing several of Hande's tracks in her, "Nasıl Delirdim" album.
In January 2008, Hande was featured in a single she wrote called, "Bir Yerde" (Somewhere) which was mainly sung by Kemal Doğulu. This collaboration, along with the composition work of Erol Temizel helped raise attention to Kemal's debut into the Turkish music industry. Kemal, also happens to be the brother of Kadir Doğulu, Hande Yener's ex-fiance. Kemal and Hande have a history together, as he's responsible for directing the video clip of Hande's "Romeo".
Hande Yener, officially announced she has been approached by TRT, the Turkish state-owned TV channel, two days after the Eurovision finals took place in 2007, in Helsinki, Finland. She had initially stated they will finalize the contract in 15 days, and she is going to Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Serbia with an English song.[6]
Following these confirmations, Hande Yener's representatives would go in to talks with TRT in order to officialize her possible participation in next year's contest. It was then later proclaimed by Hande herself that the talks have failed to go anywhere and that a Eurovision participation was ruled out for 2008.[7]
Hande Yener confirmed that she is going to the United Kingdom to make a new English Album, from the record label EMI.
| Album | Single | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| Turkey[8] | ||
| Apayrı | Kelepçe | 1 |
| Aşkın Ateşi | 1 | |
| Kim Bilebilir Aşkı | 1 | |
| Yola Devam | 1 | |
| Nasıl Delirdim? | Kibir | 1 |
| Romeo | 1 | |
| Yalan Olmasın | 1 | |
| Hipnoz | Hipnoz | 10 |
| Hayrola? | Hayrola? | 1 |
| Hande'ye Neler Oluyor? | Sopa | 2 |
| Yasak Aşk | 9 | |
| Bodrum | 1 | |
| Hande'yle Yaz Bitmez | Uzaylı | 14 |
| Kalp Sesi | Atma (ft. Sinan Akçıl ) | 1 |
| Teşekkürler | Bana Anlat | 1 |
| Year | Title | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Senden İbaret
(Consists of you)
|
* Turkey: Diamond (820.000)[1] |
| 2001 | Extra
(Extra)
|
* Turkey: (150.000)[2] |
| 2002 | Sen Yoluna... Ben Yoluma...
(Go your way... I will go mine...)
|
* Turkey: Diamond (1.500.000)[3] |
| 2004 | Aşk Kadın Ruhundan Anlamıyor
(Love doesn't understand a woman's soul)
|
* Turkey: Diamond (435.000)[4] |
| 2006 | Apayrı
(Totally apart)
|
* Turkey: Platinum (200.000)[5] |
| 2006 | Hande Maxi
(Hande Maxi)
|
* Turkey: Diamond-Single (75.000)[6] |
| 2007 | Nasıl Delirdim?
(How Did I Go Mad?)
|
* Turkey: Platinum (300.000) [7] |
| 2008 | Hipnoz
(Hypnosis)
|
* Turkey: (40.000)[9] |
| 2009 | Hayrola?
(What's Up?)
|
*Turkey: (100,000)[10] |
| 2010 | Hande'ye Neler Oluyor?
(What's Going On With Hande?)
|
* Turkey: Platinum Pl (280.000)[2] |
|
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