Zeliş Şenol

Zeliş Şenol — Biography

Zeliş Şenol, known simply as Zeliş or Zel, is a Turkish Cypriot singer, composer, vocal coach and stage actress born in Nicosia. She is known for her work on the jazz scene and for finishing fourth in the public vote of the Republic of Cyprus's Eurovision selection in 2009.

She started in music in 2000 performing jazz with Ersen Sururi, became a soloist with the Nicosia Municipality Orchestra in 2003 and for a time worked with the group KyproGenia. In 2004 she gave a concert in Athens. At the Kyrenia Jazz Festival she sang backing vocals for Grammy winner Billy Paul in 2005 and toured Kyrenia, Istanbul and Ankara with Billy Cobham in 2006; in 2007 she performed at the Europalia Festival in Berlin and worked for a period with Q-Jazz. In 2009 she entered the Eurovision selection with "I'm gonna break up with you", reached the top ten and performed on the final night but missed out on representing the country; her cabaret-style stage act drew attention. In 2012 she performed regularly at the Salamis Bay Conti Resort Hotel, and in 2014 she released the more electronic "Bonita" through a company in Romania.

She studied acting at Near East University from 2005 to 2009, staged her first monologue at the Arabahmet Cultural House in 2007 and after graduating joined the Nicosia Municipal Theatre. In 2011 she became the face of a bank advertisement and in 2012 appeared in the play Savaş 2. Perdede Çıkacak; her performance in Kabare Kıbrıs in 2013 was praised for her acting as well as her voice.