Bülent Ortaçgil

Bülent Ortaçgil — Biography

İbrahim Bülent Ortaçgil (born 1 March 1950, Ankara) is a Turkish singer, composer and lyricist who carved out a distinctive place in Turkish popular music through songs he always wrote and composed himself.

His 1974 debut album 'Benimle Oynar Mısın' made little impact on release but grew into a cult favorite over the following decades. Largely absent from the scene through most of the 1980s, he re-emerged mid-decade collaborating with Fikret Kızılok to re-release compositions from that period, then resumed his solo career from the late 1980s onward. Over seven solo albums, he worked on stage and in the studio with musicians such as Erkan Oğur, Gürol Ağırbaş, Akın Eldes, Cem Aksel and Baki Duyarlar, and recorded duets with singers including Zuhal Olcay, Birsen Tezer, Teoman and Leman Sam. In 2000, a tribute album titled 'Ortaçgil İçin Söylenmiş Ortaçgil Şarkıları,' featuring well-known Turkish musicians performing his songs, was released in his honor.

Ortaçgil has also contributed music to films such as 'Love Likes Coincidences' and 'Mutluluk Zamanı.' He marked the 50th anniversary of his career in 2022 with concerts in Harbiye and at İzmir's Kültürpark, and continued performing into 2026, touring alongside Birsen Tezer with the program 'Kadın Sesi Değmiş Şarkılar.'