Burcu Güneş

Burcu Güneş — Biography

Burcu Güneş is a singer and songwriter who has been on the Turkish pop scene since the late 1990s. She reached the top with the album Tılsım (2001), which sold over a million copies; her own songwriting and a repertoire reaching from jazz to ethnic colours set her apart. She is also known for her animal-rights work.

She first learned music beside her father, the guitarist Ali Güneş; she wrote her first song at twelve and then sang jazz and pop with the groups he formed in hotels and holiday villages. She studied voice with Müfit Bayraşa in İzmir, and songs she played for the pianist Burçin Büke led to a contact with Raks Müzik. Her first album, Aşk Yarası (1998), made her the year's best new female pop singer. Tılsım (2001) and Ay Şahit (2004) cemented her name, and in 2004 she appeared on the soundtrack of the film Neredesin Firuze. After a dispute with her record company she bought out her contract and rights herself. Her later albums included Ben Ateş Ben Su and Sihirbaz (2009); the lead single of the latter, Gözlerinde Bıraktım Aşkı, reached number one on radio charts.

In February 2011 she took part in a meeting between animal-rights activists and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and she has worked with HAYTAP on joint projects. She also hosted a programme on TRT Müzik and took part in talent shows as a judge and vocal coach.