Arzu Ece

Arzu Ece — Biography

Arzu Ece, a Turkish singer and songwriter, has represented Turkey at the Eurovision Song Contest twice. Born Arzu Özkaraman, she took part in 1989 as a member of Grup Pan and in 1995 as a solo performer. In later years she was known for television series songs and for performing abroad.

Her career began in 1976 with two 45 rpm singles, and in 1980 she acted in the films Çile and Çile Tarlası. In the second half of the 1980s she became a regular in the Turkish Eurovision finals: with group and duet entries in 1987 and 1988, then Bana Bana, composed by Timur Selçuk, which won the national final for Pan in 1989 and placed 21st of 22 in Lausanne. After finishing second in 1991 with Sessiz Geceler, she won the national final again in 1995 with Sev. Another singer had rehearsed the song, but Ece became its soloist at the last minute, and that night she also sang Sevda with Fatih Erkoç. In Dublin, Sev finished 16th of 23 with 21 points. She also lent her voice to the music of the series Yılan Hikayesi (2000) and Sevda Çiçeği (2006).

In 2010 she said publicly that she was undergoing cancer treatment, appeared on Uğur Dündar's Star Ana Haber and shared the experience in her song Kemo Ağa. In 2014 she received a thank-you letter from US President Barack Obama for her support of people fighting cancer. She has performed in the United States, including at events in Miami, and in 2022 gave a concert in the Caribbean with the Turkish flag and folk songs.