Seden Gürel

Seden Gürel — Biography

Born Nadire Seden Kutlubay on 12 September 1965 in Ankara, Seden Gürel attended Bahariye Primary School and Kadıköy Anatolian High School before studying architecture at Istanbul Technical University. As a student she sang backing vocals for İlhan İrem and formed the group Onlar with Sevingül Bahadır; combined with the group Klips, they won Turkey's 1986 Eurovision Song Contest national final with Halley, though a clash with her exams meant Candan Erçetin took her place at the contest itself, where the entry placed ninth.

She released her debut solo album, Bir Yudum Sevgi, in 1992 and went on to put out seven albums in total, becoming one of the leading names in 1990s Turkish pop, known for songs such as Çalkala. With her husband, musician Aykut Gürel, she founded the label İrem Records, named after their daughter İrem; their 23-year marriage ended in 2012, and Gürel married lawyer Macit Koçer in 2014.