Ferman Akgül facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ferman Akgül
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Akgül at the 12th Radio Boğaziçi Music Awards, May 2015
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| Born |
Ferman Akgül
25 December 1979 |
| Education | Gazi University |
| Occupation |
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| Spouse(s) |
Bettina Kuperman
(m. 2021) |
| Children | 2 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres |
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| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Labels |
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İbrahim Ferman Akgül (born on December 25, 1979) is a talented Turkish singer, songwriter, TV host, and actor. He is best known as the lead singer of the popular Turkish rock band maNga. In 2015, he started his own music company called 06 Records. The next year, in early 2016, he released his first song as a solo artist, "İstemem Söz Sevmeni."
Contents
Ferman Akgül's Early Life
Ferman Akgül was born in Ankara, Turkey, on December 25, 1979. His grandfather, Aziz Üstün, was an ozan, which is a traditional Turkish folk poet and singer. He even worked with a famous ozan named Aşık Veysel.
Ferman became interested in music when he was in high school. He quickly found out he was good at writing songs. In 1998, he started studying architecture at Gazi University. He loved the underground music scene in Ankara and began meeting different rock bands.
He had a dream to create a new kind of rock band. He was inspired by the "nu metal" bands from the 1990s and wanted to play the turntable, which is used to create cool sounds in music. But fate had other plans! He temporarily filled in as the lead singer for a band, and he realized that singing was the best way for him to express himself. In 2001, he joined maNga, and his search for a band was over.
Ferman once said, "I studied architecture, and my teachers taught me to 'look for beauty.' This definitely influenced my music." After finishing college, Ferman worked as an architect. He even won an award for a project he did with a well-known Turkish architect, Yavuz Selim Sepin, while he was recording maNga's first album.
In 2009, Ferman finished his master's degree in filmmaking from Marmara University. He later used these skills to direct several music videos for maNga and other bands.
Ferman Akgül's Music Career
Success in Turkey
Before their first album came out, the band maNga moved to Istanbul to start their professional music journey. Their first album, called maNga, was released in December 2004. It became one of the most successful and best-selling rock albums in Turkish history! The band won a Golden Record award and many other honors after it was released.
From 2005 to 2009, maNga toured all over Turkey and Europe. In 2006, their song "Bir Kadın Çizeceksin" was even used in the FIFA06 video game soundtrack.
Their second album, Şehr-i Hüzün, came out in 2009 and was even more successful.
In 2012, the E-akustik album was released and got amazing reviews. This acoustic project helped maNga gain even more fans and showed they were a strong band in Europe. Radio and TV stations loved having them perform live acoustic shows.
In 2014, maNga released their fourth album, Işıkları Söndürseler Bile, which again reached the top of the music charts.
In 2015, maNga created the soundtrack for the movie Hadi İnşallah and even appeared in it. The song from the movie became a huge hit.
International Achievements
In 2009, Ferman and the other members of maNga aimed for international success. They won the Best European Act award at the MTV Europe Music Awards that year.
Their big international moment came in 2010 when they placed second in the Eurovision Song Contest with their song "We Could Be the Same." This made them famous across Europe. In 2011, "Fly to Stay Alive," a song written and composed by Ferman, was released. This song topped the charts in several European countries, even reaching #1 on the MTV Adria Rock Chart. It has since been used in TV commercials featuring athletes from teams like LA Lakers and Manchester United.
maNga has opened for many famous bands, including Korn, Linkin Park, Nine Inch Nails, The Cure, The Offspring, Limp Bizkit, and Skin. They have also been the main act at many festivals and shows, such as Rock'n Coke, Sziget Festival in Hungary, and the Balkan Music Awards in Bulgaria. They have toured widely through Europe. They even performed in New York City’s Central Park and at London's O2 Academy Islington.
Ferman Akgül's Solo Projects
Ferman Akgül has worked with other Turkish artists like Göksel and Ozan Çolakoğlu. He also released two electronic music songs with Turkish DJ Birol "Beegee" Giray and toured clubs in Turkey.
Ferman has directed music videos for well-known Turkish musicians like Sagopa Kajmer and Cartel. In 2007, maNga's music video for their song "Yalan," directed by Ferman, won the Best Music Video Award from Radio Boğaziçi.
Ferman has also directed and hosted three seasons of a music show called Kulaktan Kulağa on Turkish state TV, TRT Müzik. The show explores local music and brings together local musicians with modern Turkish stars. A fourth season is planned!
In 2008, Ferman started writing a music column for Billboard Türkiye magazine for two years. After that magazine stopped being published in Turkey, he continued writing for 46 Magazine. Ferman is also a regular writer about arts and music for the Turkish newspaper Vatan.
Ferman Akgül enjoys writing short stories and is working on publishing a collection of them.
In early 2016, Ferman released his first solo song, "İstemem Söz Sevmeni," through his own company, 06 Records, working with EMI - Universal Music Turkey.
Ferman also starred in the Turkish version of The Little Prince play at the Zorlu Performance Centre. He played one of the main characters, the Pilot.
Discography
Studio albums (with maNga)
- 2004: maNga
- 2006: maNga+
- 2009: Şehr-i Hüzün
- 2010: We Could Be the Same (EP)
- 2012: e-akustik
- 2014: Işıkları Söndürseler Bile
Studio albums (solo)
- 2017: Yürüyorum İçimde
Singles
- 2016: İstemem Söz Sevmeni
- 2016: Dırdır (feat. Pascal Nouma)
- 2018: Efsaneyiz (feat. Fatma Turgut)
- 2020: 100 kere 23 Nisan (with İskender Paydaş and Nilüfer Children's Choir)
Awards
Ferman Akgül and maNga have won over 200 awards from more than 25 countries around the world!
- 2002 - “Sing Your Song”: Runner-Up Prize (Kal Yanımda)
- 2005 - Golden Butterfly Awards: The Best New Band (Bir Kadın Çizeceksin)
- 2006 – “Bir Kadın Çizeceksin” was included in the soundtrack of FIFA
- 2006 - MÜ-YAP Music Industry Awards: Golden Record Award
- 2006 - Our Future Magazine: Best Band
- 2006 - Jetix TV Awards: Best Band
- 2006 - Beyaz Show Oscars: Best Performance
- 2006 - Kemal Sunal Culture and Art Awards: Best New Band (Bir Kadın Çizeceksin)
- 2006 - Popsay Awards: Best Rock and Alternative Band
- 2006 - Popsay Awards: Best Music Video (Bir Kadın Çizeceksin)
- 2007 - Radio Boğaziçi: Best Animation Music Video (Yalan)
- 2007 - Kanaltürk Award Ceremony: Best Band
- 2007 - Kanaltürk Award Ceremony: Best Music Video (Bir Kadın Çizeceksin)
- 2007 - Yıldız Technical University: Best Band Award
- 2009 - Yıldız Technical University: Best Band Award
- 2009 – Best Band in Balkan Music Awards
- 2009 - MTV Europe The Best Band of The Year
- 2009 - 13. İstanbul FM Golden Awards: Best Band
- 2009 - Pal FM Best Awards: Best live Performance
- 2009 - Pal FM Best Awards: Best Song (Dünyanın Sonuna Doğmuşum)
- 2009 - 17. İTÜ EMOS Success Awards: Most Successful Band of the Year
- 2010 - 16. Kral Music Awards: Best Band
- 2010 - 55. Eurovision Song Contest: Runner-up Prize (We Could Be The Same)
- 2011 - Balkan Music Awards: Best Band of Balkans
- 2012 - Balkan Music Awards: Best Band of Balkans
- 2012 - Radio Klas Music Awards: Best Band
- 2012 - Blue Jean Awards: Band of the Year
- 2012 - Blue Jean Awards: Album of the Year (E-Akustik)
- 2012 - Golden Spider Media Awards: Best Website (www.manga.web.tr)
- 2015 – Turkey Youth Awards: Best Band
- 2015 - Magazinci.com 15th Year Internet Media Bests of the Year: Best Band of the Year
- 2015 - Radio Boğaziçi: Best Band
- 2015 - Radio Ege: Best Band
- 2015 - Gazi University: Best Band
- 2015 - Istanbul Technical University: Best Band
