Gülseren
Encyclopedia
Gülseren Yıldırım Gomez (born Gülseren Yıldırım, 1973), known on stage simply as Gülseren, is a Turkish
born French
singer, whose output covers a wide range of genres, including pop
, Latin
, techno
and traditional Turkish music. Despite having lived in France
for most of her life, she was selected to represent the country of her birth in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005
, held in Kiev
, Ukraine
.
, Turkey
. Having moved to Paris
at the age of seven, Gülseren took a number of steps as the years progressed to remain engaged with her Turkish background. She studied at the French university INALCO, which specialises in Eastern culture
, and she also gave Turkish language
lessons to Parisian children.
and world music. She also performed in venues across Europe, in particular returning to Turkey on many occasions.
Gülseren tried her hand at acting when she played herself in the made-for-television Dutch
film Roos and Rana, which hit screens in April 2001. The film focused on the relationship between two girls, one Dutch and the other Turkish, and how it impacts upon their families.
In early 2005, Gülseren threw her hat in the ring in the competition to represent Turkey at the Eurovision Song Contest
. After tentative plans for a public televote were dropped, the selection of the country's Eurovision entry instead rested with a seventeen-strong jury, for whom Gülseren's performance of "Rimi Rimi Ley
" proved to be the decisive favourite. The song was notable for being uncompromisingly faithful to Turkish musical traditions - somewhat in contrast to the country's entries in 2003 and especially 2004 - and has been criticised by 2003 Eurovision
winner Sertab Erener
for lacking the broad international appeal necessary to achieve a good result. However, it can also be seen as a response to the result of the 2004 contest
, in which identifiably 'ethnic' songs - perhaps most notably the Serbia and Montenegro
entry - proved to be successful vote-grabbers.
Due to the impressive placing of Turkey's 2004 representatives Athena
on home soil in Istanbul, Gülseren had the fortune of being immune from the tough battle to avoid elimination at the semi-final stage on 19 May, and instead qualified directly for the grand final on 21 May in which she finished 13th with 92 points. Turkey participated in the semi-final of the 2006 contest
in Greece
after finishing 13th in the 2005 contest.
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
born French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
singer, whose output covers a wide range of genres, including pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, Latin
Latin American music
Latin American music, found within Central and South America, is a series of musical styles and genres that mixes influences from Spanish, African and indigenous sources, that has recently become very famous in the US.-Argentina:...
, techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
and traditional Turkish music. Despite having lived in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
for most of her life, she was selected to represent the country of her birth in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005
Eurovision Song Contest 2005
The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th Eurovision Song Contest, which was held at the Palace of Sports, Kiev, Ukraine. The winner was Greece's My Number One, written by Christos Dantis and Natalia Germanou and performed by Swedish-born Greek singer Elena Paparizou, who scored 230 points,...
, held in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
.
Early life
She was born in IstanbulIstanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. Having moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
at the age of seven, Gülseren took a number of steps as the years progressed to remain engaged with her Turkish background. She studied at the French university INALCO, which specialises in Eastern culture
Eastern world
__FORCETOC__The term Eastern world refers very broadly to the various cultures or social structures and philosophical systems of Eastern Asia or geographically the Eastern Culture...
, and she also gave Turkish language
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
lessons to Parisian children.
Musical career
Between 1997 and 1999, she forged her experience as a singer by giving nightly performances at the Parisian cabaret venue "Les Trois Mailletz", which showcases jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and world music. She also performed in venues across Europe, in particular returning to Turkey on many occasions.
Gülseren tried her hand at acting when she played herself in the made-for-television Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
film Roos and Rana, which hit screens in April 2001. The film focused on the relationship between two girls, one Dutch and the other Turkish, and how it impacts upon their families.
In early 2005, Gülseren threw her hat in the ring in the competition to represent Turkey at the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
. After tentative plans for a public televote were dropped, the selection of the country's Eurovision entry instead rested with a seventeen-strong jury, for whom Gülseren's performance of "Rimi Rimi Ley
Rimi Rimi Ley
"Rimi Rimi Ley" was the Turkish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, performed in Turkish.In the final, it was performed sixth, following the Norwegian entry and preceding Moldova's Zdob şi Zdub with "Boonika bate doba"...
" proved to be the decisive favourite. The song was notable for being uncompromisingly faithful to Turkish musical traditions - somewhat in contrast to the country's entries in 2003 and especially 2004 - and has been criticised by 2003 Eurovision
Eurovision Song Contest 2003
The Eurovision Song Contest 2003 was the forty-eighth Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Skonto Hall in Riga, Latvia on 24 May 2003. The hosts were Marie N and Renārs Kaupers. Sertab Erener, the Turkish entrant, won the contest with "Everyway That I Can", scoring 167 points. The winning...
winner Sertab Erener
Sertab Erener
Sertab Erener is a Turkish pop music singer and also a cross-over soprano with a vocal range that extends to high F. She is one of the most successful female Turkish pop singers in her homeland, and is considered one of the divas of Turkish pop music...
for lacking the broad international appeal necessary to achieve a good result. However, it can also be seen as a response to the result of the 2004 contest
Eurovision Song Contest 2004
The Eurovision Song Contest 2004, was the 49th Contest and it was held in the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. This was the first occasion in which the contest was held in Turkey after they had won the competition in 2003 with Sertab Erener singing "Everyway That I Can"...
, in which identifiably 'ethnic' songs - perhaps most notably the Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
entry - proved to be successful vote-grabbers.
Due to the impressive placing of Turkey's 2004 representatives Athena
Athena (band)
Athena is a ska punk band from Istanbul, Turkey. Its current line-up is composed of Hakan Özoğuz , Gökhan Özoğuz, Umut Arabacı , Emre Ataker and Alican Tezer .- Band history :...
on home soil in Istanbul, Gülseren had the fortune of being immune from the tough battle to avoid elimination at the semi-final stage on 19 May, and instead qualified directly for the grand final on 21 May in which she finished 13th with 92 points. Turkey participated in the semi-final of the 2006 contest
Eurovision Song Contest 2006
The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece on 18 May and 20 May 2006 . The hosting national broadcaster of the contest was Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi . The Finnish band Lordi won the contest with the song "Hard Rock...
in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
after finishing 13th in the 2005 contest.