Tarkan

“It feels wild, you know, because in the beginning I never thought it was going to really happen. It's all in Turkish, you know, and nobody understands a word. But I think it's a groove. It's the kisses that are universal.”

“I was raised in Germany until I was 13, and then my family decided to go back to Turkey. It was good in a way, because I studied music. And I went to a Turkish classical music school and studied music for three years. And then I just realized that I can't do anything else but singing music. And everything just happened naturally.”

“My fans -- when I see them somewhere, outside my concerts -- I get that, that vibe. They're really supporting my projects and everything, because it's a first time that a Turkish singer is, you know, able to express himself out of Turkey.”

“He was my mentor in a way -- as a musician and as a businessman. He came to Turkey once and saw me on stage performing, and then he came up to me and said, "You've got to call me." I said, I would love to. And that was the first thing I did when I came to New York. Then we did an agreement, a deal, with him for the English albums.”

“It was January and snowing like crazy. It was tough; the food was terrible. Eighteen months of my life for nothing? I thought my own dreams were more important.”

“It gets worse and worse. I love it, but I have no life. People grab me and kiss me. I like that, but it can be overwhelming.”

“I don't care what people think. This is my life. I know who I am. I stood up for my rights and my life.”

“Dancing and singing were always like games to me. I sang constantly.”

“I had always dreamed of being involved in a job where I could do anything related to animals and nature. A vet maybe. But later I came to understand that it was just a temporary interest and that music was more important to me.”

“Moving to Turkey was the turning point in my life.”

“We need to know ourselves better so that we can realize what we really want in our life. I think that the first condition for a person to be in a successful relationship is to be happy with the person he or she is, in other words to love themselves.”

“I think that my music is very unique and connects both worlds. That's the reason why I named my album Come Closer. I believe in cultural sharing, in the idea of we-belong-altogether. In my opinion, music should have no borders and we should all try to come closer.”