Sinan Akçıl

Sinan Akçıl — Biography

Sinan Akçıl was born on 20 May 1982 in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, to a family of Albanian descent; they moved to Istanbul that same year. His father is Saim Akçıl, the violinist who leads the Tekfen Philharmonic Orchestra, and his sister is pianist İdil Akçıl. He took up piano at a Kadıköy municipal conservatory at age six, left it at nine to attend St. Benoit French High School, and joined the school orchestra in 1995, the same year he won his first composing award.

Working as a composer, lyricist and producer with artists including Mustafa Sandal, Ebru Gündeş, Gülben Ergen, Candan Erçetin, Yaşar and Ferhat Göçer, Akçıl became widely known for producing Hadise's Düm Tek Tek, which placed fourth at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. He wrote and composed for several Hande Yener albums, teamed up with Maher Zain on Gülmek Sadaka, and performed the duet İkinci Sen with Aygün Kazımova.

He has also recorded as a solo vocalist on his own albums, and while his singing has drawn criticism at times, his songwriting has won respect. In his personal life he married actress Burcu Kıratlı in 2018, divorced in 2019, remarried in 2021 and separated again soon after. He served as a judge on X Factor in 2014, and in 2026 co-hosts the show Yaz Bir Şarkı with Demet Akalın while preparing a new album after a seven-year break.