Semiha Yankı

Semiha Yankı — Biography

Semiha Yankı is known as Turkey's first entrant in the Eurovision Song Contest. In 1975 she performed "Seninle Bir Dakika" in Stockholm and finished last, with only 3 points from Monaco; the result is usually put down to political circumstances, as the Cyprus Peace Operation had taken place shortly before. Besides pop singing she has worked as a presenter and actress, and in 2026 a concert in Miami was announced for her.

Born into a family who made a living from circus acrobatics, with roots in Thessaloniki on her father's side and Trabzon on her mother's, she is a distant relative of the painter Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu. She turned to music after her tightrope-walker brother fell from a trapeze and died at 23. At 14 she began singing on stage with her mother's support; Ülkü Aker discovered her and Yaşar Kekeva produced her first record. Singles such as "Benim Dünyam", "Mutlu Olmak İstiyorsan" and "Böcecik" made her name between 1974 and 1978. In the Eurovision national selection she competed with a song by Kemal Ebcioğlu; first place went to "Delisin", but a draw gave her the trip to Stockholm.

She never left the stage afterwards, releasing albums including Gönül Oyunu (1981), Büyük Aşkımız (1986), Adını Yollara Yazdım (1989), Ben Sana Mecburum (1990) and Seni Seviyorum (2004). In film she appeared in Hammal (1976) and played Belkıs in the 2012 series Dangerous Beauty. She has also described how she spotted Yıldız Tilbe's talent on hearing her sing.