Hande Yener

Hande Yener
Background information
Birth name	Makbule Hande Özyener
Born	(1973-01-12) January 12, 1973 Istanbul, Turkey
Genres	Pop, electronic
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, record producer
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Poll Production
Website	handeyener.com

Hande Yener (born January 12, 1973 in Istanbul, Turkey) is a Turkish pop singer. She is one of the most famous singers in Turkey. Over the past decade, she has introduced different styles to the ever expanding Turkish pop music scene.^[1] 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.^[2]

Life and career

1973-99: Early life and career beginnings

Yener was born Makbule Hande Özyener on January 12, 1973, in Kadıköy, Istanbul. After secondary school, she wanted to study at a conservatory but her parents didn't let her. Instead, she attended Erenköy Girls High School.^[3] She dropped out of high school and married Uğur Kulaçoğlu at the age of 17.^[4] In 1991, Yener gave birth to her son, Çağın Kulaçoğlu.^[4] She began to take singing lessons from Erdem Siyavuşgil and tried unsuccessfully to contact Sezen Aksu.^[3]

In 1992, Yener met Hülya Avşar, who was shopping at the department store she worked at. Avşar arranged for her to meet Sezen Aksu, who would eventually invite her to audition to work with her on her upcoming album. Aksu hired her as her assistant and as 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 contribute to the production of some of Aksu's albums during the 1990s.

1999-2001: Senden İbaret and Extra

Yener worked with Aksu as a backing vocalist for two years, gaining experience and establishing her name. She went on to release her own first album in 1999, "Senden İbaret" (All About You).

The first single released off from the album, "Yalanın Batsın" (Damn Your Lies), was a dance track was an instant success, jumping right to the top of most Turkish charts and becoming an instant club hit. The second single from this album, "Yoksa Mani" (If There Isn't An Obstacle), a pop track with Eastern-sounding elements, also attracted a lot attention.

A third single from "Senden İbaret", "Extra", was released in 2001, featuring several remixes to songs from the album, along with a couple of new tracks.

2002-03: Sen Yoluna... Ben Yoluma...

Later in 2001, Yener's second album came out, "Sen Yoluna... Ben Yoluma..." (Go Your Way...I Will Go Mine...). The album incorporated a lot of ethnic and traditional music with modern pop. Singles from the album included "Sen Yoluna... Ben Yoluma..." and "Küs". The release was followed by sold-out concerts in Turkey and abroad.

2004-05: Aşk Kadın Ruhundan Anlamıyor

Yener released her next album, "Aşk Kadın Ruhundan Anlamıyor" (Love Doesn't Understand a Women's Soul), in 2004. The album generated six hits, including "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" was successful in some countries outside of Turkey as well. This album's popularity presisted for over 2 years.

2006: Apayrı and Hande Maxi

Although her previous album was a huge success, Yener 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. The album sold 200 000 copies.^[5]

Later on, as the popularity of "Apayrı" spread all around Turkey, Yener 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.

2007-09: Nasıl Delirdim?, Hipnoz and Hayrola?

Hande Yener in Marmaris, 2009

After Hande Maxi, with its electronic and trance sound, Yener 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 Yener 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 success, however, for it did not chart at all in Turkey.

In April 2008, it was announced that Yener 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, Yener 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, Yener has worked with electronic composer Erol Temizel, and nine of the songs have lyrics written by 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.

2010: Hande'ye Neler Oluyor? and Hande'yle Yaz Bitmez

On the first of April, 2010, being blonde again and having left Avrupa Müzik, now being part of the music label of Poll Production, Yener 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,^[6] and went on selling 60 000+ in its third and fourth week.^[7]

Hande'yle Yaz Bitmez is the third maxi single by Turkish pop artist Hande Yener, released by Poll Production^[8] 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.^[9][10]

2011-present: Teşekkürler and Kraliçe

Hande Yener in Bochum, 2011

Her latest album is called Teşekkürler (Thanks) and was co-produced by Sinan Akçıl. Comprising 12 songs, the album has so far spawned three single releases: "Bana Anlat" ("Tell Me"), "Unutulmuyor" ("Not Forgotten") and "Teşekkürler" ("Thank You").

Collaboration with other artists

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".

Eurovision offer

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.^[11]

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.^[12]

Discography

• Senden İbaret (2000)
• Sen Yoluna... Ben Yoluma... (2002)
• Aşk Kadın Ruhundan Anlamıyor (2004)
• Apayrı (2006)
• Nasıl Delirdim? (2007)
• Hipnoz (2008)
• Hayrola? (2009)
• Hande'ye Neler Oluyor? (2010)
• Teşekkürler (2011)
• Kraliçe (2012)

See also

• List of Turkish pop music performers
• Music of Turkey
• Turkish pop music

References

External links

• Official website