Emel Müftüoğlu

Emel Müftüoğlu — Biography

Emel Müftüoğlu is a pop singer who won a newspaper's music contest in 1985 and has since combined singing with acting and television presenting; her maiden name is Merdivenci. Before fame she worked for years as a state electricity (TEK) employee in Afyonkarahisar. Her single Hovarda, released with two songs she received from Sezen Aksu, outsold even albums and became one of the best-selling singles in Turkey.

In her first years she worked as a duo with Erdal Çelik, runner-up in the same contest; together they released the albums Öyle Bir Aşk and Alaturka Benim Canım. She went solo in 1989. Karlar Düşer (1990), built from Greek songs given new Turkish lyrics, sold well, and Faka Bastın (1992) reached higher figures still; the title song's video was directed by Sinan Çetin, a first for a film director in Turkey, where clips until then had been shot by television directors. The video for Hovarda took Turkey to the final of the Euro Video Grand Prix, where it placed seventh among 16 countries. Later albums include Ruhun Duymaz, Bana Özel, Mucize, Arabesk and Çok Ayıp.

She began acting in 1991 in the series Şen Dullar and appeared in Sinan Çetin's film Bay E in 1995. Aşk Olsun (2003), in which she shared the lead with Talat Bulut, reached high ratings; in later years she also acted in series such as Sessiz Gece, Son Ağa, Zoraki Başkan and Çocuklar Duymasın. On television she hosted programmes including Emelce, Emel İçgüdü and Emelce Sabahlar.