Mustafa Sandal facts for kids

Mustafa Sandal (born on January 11, 1970) is a famous Turkish singer, songwriter, and actor. He started his music journey in the early 1990s. He wrote many songs for other singers. This helped him become well-known in the music world. He also played the main role in the comedy TV series "Başrolde Aşk".

In 1994, he released his first album, Suç Bende. It was a big hit and made him famous in Turkey. Then came his second album, Gölgede Aynı, in 1996. In 1998, his song "Aya Benzer" from the album Detay became a number one hit. After signing with Sony Music, he released the album Araba. The song "Araba" became a huge success.

Throughout his career, he released many more albums. These include Akışına Bırak (2000) and Kop (2002). Later, he released Seven (2003) with Universal Music. This was followed by İste (2004), Devamı Var (2007), and Karizma (2009). In 2011, his song "Şıkır Şıkır" with Gülben Ergen was the most downloaded song of the year. In 2012, Sandal released his 10th album, Organik. In 2013, his new song "Tesir Altında" was one of the best-selling songs. Mustafa Sandal has won many awards. For his album Kop, he was named "Best Male Artist" in 2002.

Besides music, he has worked in TV, advertising, and movies. Sandal has sold over 14 million albums worldwide. He has worked with many artists. These include Ajda Pekkan, Sezen Aksu, and Hakan Peker.

Early Life and School

Mustafa Sandal was born in Istanbul, Turkey. His father, Yusuf Sandal, was from Erzincan. His mother, Tülin İleri, was from Adana. His family lived in Arnavutköy, Istanbul. His grandfather, Hüseyin İleri, was a musician for TRT.

Mustafa Sandal went to Özel Dost School in Tarabya for primary school. He then moved to Geneva, Switzerland. There, he attended Collège du Léman. After eight years, he went to the United States. He studied at the New Hampshire University. In 1996, he continued his studies at the American College of London. He learned English, Italian, and French. He also served in the military for a short time in 1999. Sandal loves flying and is a certified pilot.

Sandal married Serbian singer Emina Jahović on January 13, 2008. They met in July 2004 in Bodrum, Muğla. Their first child, Yaman, was born on August 8, 2008. On February 21, 2012, their second son, Yavuz, was born. Their children speak both Turkish and Serbian. The couple divorced in 2018.

Sandal married Melis Sütşurup on June 3, 2022. The wedding took place at the Turkish embassy in Rome, Italy.

Music Journey

Early Years: Composing and Songwriting (1989–1993)

In 1989, Mustafa Sandal left the United States to follow his passion for music. He returned to Turkey. He started his professional music career at Istanbul Gelişim Studio. There, he showed his talent for writing and composing songs.

He wrote his first song, "Vazgeçme," with Bülent Tezcan. Singer Ajda Pekkan released it in 1991. Sandal has written songs for many famous artists. These include Ajda Pekkan, Sezen Aksu, Sertab Erener, and Hakan Peker. For a while, he also worked as an assistant for the music legend Onno Tunç.

First Albums: Suç Bende, Gölgede Aynı, Detay (1994–1999)

In July 1994, his first album, Suç Bende, was released. Sandal wrote and composed all seven songs on this album. In just three months, he performed 140 concerts in Turkey. He also gave 30 concerts in other countries.

After his first album's success, Sandal released his second album, Gölgede Aynı, in June 1996. He wrote and composed all the songs on this album too. This album made him even more popular. He performed at over 140 events in Turkey. The music video for "Araba" was filmed in Beşiktaş. In 1996, Gölgede Aynı was the best-selling album in Turkey. It sold over 3.6 million copies.

On September 1, 1998, his third album, Detay, was released. This album also sold very well. It allowed Sandal to give over 120 concerts across the country.

In May 1999, he signed a new contract with Sony Music in France. He filmed a new music video for a new version of his song "Araba" in Marrakesh, Morocco. The song was translated into Russian, Arabic, and Greek. After this new song came out, the album Araba was sold in many countries outside Turkey. However, due to some issues with Sony Music, Sandal decided to stop his career in Europe for a while.

New Albums and Collaborations (2000–2003)

In June 2000, his fourth album, Akışına Bırak, was released. İskender Paydaş was the music director for this album. The song "Tek Geçerim" became a top hit. Sandal made a music video for it. Another video was made for "Hatırla Beni," a song with Greek singer Natalia. The last video was for "Geriye Dönemem." In 2000, his song "Gidesim Gelmiyor," with Reyhan Karaca, was one of the best songs in Turkey. In June 2001, he composed "Can Cana" for the Istanbul Metro Service. He later performed with Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti in front of 25,000 people. He said this was his most memorable performance.

In May 2002, Sandal's new album Kop was released. It became the second best-selling album of the year. The album came out during the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The song "Pazara Kadar," written for the Turkish national football team, was very popular with fans. Sandal then started his own production company, Yada Prodüksiyon. After Kop, Sandal gave many concerts in Europe. These included shows in Moscow and Paris in 2003.

His first mini-album, Maxi Sandal 2003, was released in Turkey in 2003. The first music video was for "Aşka Yürek Gerek," again with Natalia. His new song, "Aya Benzer 2003 (Moonlight)," was released by Universal Music. Sandal then released his new album Seven. This album was among the top 10 best-selling albums in Europe. Sandal appeared in the music video for "All My Life" with Miss World 2002 Azra Akın. The video was filmed at the Topkapı Palace. After Seven became successful, German TV host Stefan Raab came to Turkey to film a special show about Sandal. Sandal also appeared on the cover of Der Spiegel magazine. For the 100th birthday of the Beşiktaş football team, Sandal composed the songs "100. Yıl Marşı" and "Hadi Hisset."

European Success (2004–2007)

On July 13, 2004, Sandal released another mini-album called İste. The first music video was for "İsyankar." Later, another video for the "Oriental Remix" version of the song was made. It used footage from one of Sandal's concerts. Another music video was released for "Kavrulduk." Sandal performed many concerts that summer. He even appeared at some concerts with his Volkswagen cars. In the same year, he worked with LR Cosmetics. He created a line of perfumes called "7" sold in 24 countries.

In 2005, he released "İsyankar" as a single in Europe. "İsyankar" became one of the best-selling songs in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. In 2005, Sandal gave a concert in Taksim Square in Istanbul. This was to celebrate Turkey's team in the UEFA Champions League. He later shared the stage with Shakira at Aspendos Theater for a TV show. Shakira said, "Mustafa Sandal is a very good friend." Sandal also met Paris Hilton backstage. On May 7, 2005, he launched Musti TV on his website. In August, his new mini-album, "Yamalı Tövbeler," was released. On its release day, "Yamalı Tövbeler" sold 180,000 copies. This was a record in Turkey.

Sandal's song "İsyankar" sold 150,000 copies in Germany. This earned him a gold award. The music video for "İsyankar" was filmed in Istanbul, near Bosphorus. It was produced by Universal Music. The video reached number one on the MTV TRL Charts. After this success, Sandal started his world tour on February 5 in Germany. He performed in England, Pakistan, Russia, the Netherlands, Albania, and Brazil.

New Albums and Projects (2007–2012)

On June 12, 2007, Sandal announced his new album, Devamı Var. It was released the next day. The main song, "İndir," was written by Sinan Akçıl. Sandal said, "I can call it the 'album of my life'." He also appeared with his grandfather Hüseyin İleri in Muhabbet Card commercials.

In 2008, Sandal went on a concert tour in Turkey. He performed for 500,000 people in 15 cities. His songs "İndir," "Aşka Yürek Gerek," and "İsyankar" were included in a video game for PlayStation 2. Sandal won an award for the Best Commercial Film in 2008. He was also very popular online.

In June 2009, Sandal released his new album Karizma. He worked with Bojan Dugic, who had worked with Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez. Bojan Dugic composed the main song "Ateş Et ve Unut." The album was downloaded 450,000 times in four days. Sandal worked to stop illegal downloads. The music video for "Ateş Et ve Unut" cost 50,000 dollars. It was filmed at Haydarpaşa Port.

UNICEF Germany chose Mustafa Sandal as a European spokesperson. This was for a campaign to help refugee children in Pakistan. Sandal was voted the most popular Turkish artist in Europe. He gave a message about peace in a UNICEF brochure. Sandal said, "I accepted it without thinking." His fans from different countries liked his charity work. They called him "Turkey's Michael Jackson."

In 2010, Mustafa Sandal and Gökben sang a duet called "Nevrin Döner." It was part of an album that mixed old and new artists.

In June 2011, Mustafa Sandal and Gülben Ergen released the duet "Şıkır Şıkır." Sandal wrote the song. It was the best-selling digital song in Turkey in 2011.

In summer 2012, Sandal released the album Organik. He called it the "album of my life." The main song, "Ego," reached number one on digital platforms. The album was also popular on social media. The first music video for "Ego" was directed by Tülay İbak. Sandal said, "It's not a clip, but a short film." Sandal's wife Emina was featured on the song "Çek Gönder." Soner Sarıkabadayı and Eflatun also appeared on the album. Sandal's concert in Beykoz, Istanbul, had 150,000 attendees. Sandal also sang "Kalmadı" for the album Tam 90'dan. He became an ambassador for the School Olympic Games Project. He composed "Teşekkürler Anne" for the project.

Recent Singles (2013–Present)

In 2013, he started working on a new song with Gülşen and Ozan Çolakoğlu. He delayed the project due to events in Turkey. On August 6, 2013, he released "Tesir Altında." It became the best-selling song of 2013. In the following years, Sandal released more songs. These include "Reset" (with Eypio) (2018), "Gel Bana" (2019), and "Mod" (with Zeynep Bastık) (2019). All of them entered the official music charts in Turkey.

On September 27, 2017, Mustafa Sandal performed at the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games closing ceremony. This was held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. He sang a song in the Turkmen language called Kushtdepdi.

At the 2019 ABU TV Song Festival in Tokyo, Sandal represented Turkey. He performed a new version of his song "Aya Benzer."

In April 2020, he released "Yanında." This song was a tribute to healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Singers Melis Fis and Defkhan were featured. The money from digital sales was given to healthcare facilities. The song used new 8D music technology. In September 2020, he released "Damar," which topped the music charts in Turkey.

In January 2021, Sandal and Doğu Demirkol released their duet "Tekrar." The song came with a music video and a short film. These films referenced Sandal's past music videos.

Acting and TV Shows

In 1993, Sandal hosted a radio show called Kırmızı Işık. In 1995, Sandal had a small role in the movie Bay E. He also sang the movie's main song.

In November 2010, the movie New York'ta Beş Minare became the most-watched film in Turkey. Sandal played a police officer named Acar in it. In the same year, Sandal hosted the TV show Kimsin Sen on Star TV.

In 2011, Sandal acted with Dolunay Soysert in the TV series Başrolde Aşk on TRT 1.

In 2012, he became a judge on Acun Ilıcalı's show O Ses Türkiye (The Voice) on Star TV. He judged alongside Hülya Avşar, Hadise, and Murat Boz. The show was very popular. A contestant from Sandal's team was runner-up in the first season. In 2013, Mustafa Bozkurt from Sandal's team won the competition. Sandal left the show after the second season.

Sandal also appeared in many commercials. With his then-wife Emina Jahović, he earned money for a Turkcell commercial. He then appeared in three commercials for BP. For one commercial, Sandal told a story about a fan. For another, he worked with writer Gülse Birsel.

The Disney movie Planes was released in Turkey on August 23, 2013. Sandal voiced the character Dusty in the Turkish version.

In 2014, Sandal was a guest on a New Year's episode of Kanal D's show Arkadaşım Hoşgeldin. He performed his song "Tesir Altında" in a comedy sketch.

Other Activities

In 2019, Sandal joined Turkey's team for the National Sports Synchronized Skiing World Championships. The championships were held in Aspen, Colorado. Sandal was part of the Turkish Synchronized Ski National Team. The team placed 2nd and 3rd in some races. They also placed 4th and 8th in other events.

Discography

• Suç Bende (My Fault) (1994)
• Gölgede Aynı (Same in the Shadow) (1996)
• Detay (Detail) (1998)
• Akışına Bırak (Let It Go) (2000)
• Kop (Break) (2002)
• Seven (Lover) (2003)
• İste (Ask for It) (2004)
• Yamalı Tövbeler (2005)
• Devamı Var (To Be Continued) (2007)
• Karizma (Charisma) (2009)
• Organik (Organic) (2012)

Filmography

• Mr. E (1995)
• Interaktiv (2003)
• TV total (2004)
• Wetten, dass..? (2005)
• Five Minarets in New York (2010)
• Başrolde Aşk (2011)
• Arkadaşım Hoşgeldin (2014)
• Arif V 216 (2018)

Programs

• Kimsin Sen (Turkish version of Identity) (2010)
• O Ses Türkiye (Turkish version of The Voice) (2011–2013)
• Rising Star Türkiye (2015)

See also

In Spanish: Mustafa Sandal para niños