Mustafa Sandal facts for kids

Mustafa Sandal (born on January 11, 1970) is a famous Turkish singer, songwriter, and actor. He became well-known in the early 1990s by writing and composing songs for other artists. He also played a main role in the comedy TV series "Başrolde Aşk".

In 1994, Mustafa Sandal released his first album, Suç Bende. It was very successful and made him a star in Turkey. He then released another album called 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" from this album became a huge hit. Throughout his career, he has released many more albums. These include Akışına Bırak (2000) and Kop (2002). Later, he released Seven (2003), 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. His 2013 single "Tesir Altında" was one of the best-selling songs that year. Mustafa Sandal has won many awards for his music. For example, he was named "Best Male Artist" in 2002 for his album Kop.

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

About Mustafa Sandal

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, a neighborhood in Istanbul. His grandfather, Hüseyin İleri, was a musician who worked for TRT.

Mustafa Sandal went to primary school in Tarabya. He later moved to Geneva, Switzerland, and studied at Collège du Léman. After eight years, he went to the United States and studied at New Hampshire University. In 1996, he continued his studies at the American College of London. He can speak 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 2004. Their first son, Yaman, was born on August 8, 2008. Their second son, Yavuz, was born on February 21, 2012. Their children speak both Turkish and Serbian. The couple later divorced in 2018.

Mustafa Sandal married Melis Sütşurup on June 3, 2022, in Rome, Italy.

Mustafa Sandal's Music Journey

Early Music Career: 1989–1993

In 1989, Mustafa Sandal returned to Turkey to follow his passion for music. He started his professional music journey at Istanbul Gelişim Studio. There, he showed a great talent for writing and composing songs.

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

First Albums: 1994–1999

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

After his first album's success, he released his second album, Gölgede Aynı, in June 1996. He also wrote and composed all the songs on this album. This album made him even more popular in the music world. He performed over 140 concerts in Turkey after its release. The music video for "Araba" was filmed in Beşiktaş. In 1996, Gölgede Aynı was the best-selling album in Turkey.

On September 1, 1998, his third album, Detay, was released. This album was also very successful. It led to over 120 concerts across the country.

In May 1999, he signed a new contract with Sony Music in France. He recorded a new music video for a new version of his song "Araba" in Marrakesh, Morocco. The song was translated into Russian, Arabic, and Greek. The album Araba was sold in many countries outside Turkey.

New Music and Collaborations: 2000–2003

In June 2000, Mustafa Sandal's fourth album, Akışına Bırak, was released. The song "Tek Geçerim" from this album became a top hit. He also made a music video for it. Another music video was made for "Hatırla Beni," a duet with Greek singer Natalia. In 2000, his song "Gidesim Gelmiyor," with Reyhan Karaca, was one of the best songs in Turkey.

In June 2001, he composed the song "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 one of his most memorable performances.

In May 2002, Sandal's new album Kop was released. It became the second best-selling album of the year. The song "Pazara Kadar" from this album was written for the Turkish national football team during the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Sandal later started his own production company called Yada Prodüksiyon. After Kop, he gave concerts in Europe, including Moscow and Paris.

His first maxi single, Maxi Sandal 2003, was released in Turkey in 2003. The music video for "Aşka Yürek Gerek" featured Greek singer Natalia again. His new single, "Aya Benzer 2003 (Moonlight)," was released by Universal Music. Sandal then released his 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.

European Success: 2004–2007

On July 13, 2004, Sandal released another maxi single called İste. The music video for "İsyankar" was very popular. He also released a music video for the "Oriental Remix" version of the song. Another music video was made for "Kavrulduk". Sandal performed concerts under the theme "Volkswagen with Music Love". He even brought his Volkswagen cars to some shows. In the same year, he created a perfume series called "7" with LR Cosmetics, 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 performed a concert in Taksim Square in Istanbul to celebrate Turkey's team in the UEFA Champions League. He also shared the stage with Shakira on a TV show. Shakira said, "Mustafa Sandal is a very good friend and a nice pal." Sandal also met Paris Hilton backstage. On May 7, 2005, he launched Musti TV on his website. In August, his new maxi single, "Yamalı Tövbeler," was released. It sold 180,000 copies on its release day, setting a record in Turkey.

Sandal's single "İsyankar" sold 150,000 copies in Germany, earning him a gold award. The music video for "İsyankar" was filmed in Istanbul near the Bosphorus. It reached number one on the MTV TRL Charts. After this success, Sandal started a world tour on February 5, performing in England, Russia, and other countries.

New Albums and Projects: 2007–2012

On June 12, 2007, Sandal announced his new album, Devamı Var, which 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 in commercials with his grandfather, Hüseyin İleri.

In 2008, Sandal went on a concert tour in Turkey. He performed for 500,000 people in 15 different cities. His songs "İndir," "Aşka Yürek Gerek," and "İsyankar" were included in a video game for PlayStation 2 called "SingStar Turkish Party." Sandal won an award for the "Best Commercial Film" in 2008. He was also ranked third in popularity in Europe, after Madonna and Britney Spears.

In June 2009, Sandal released his album Karizma. He worked with Bojan Dugic, who had arranged songs for artists like Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez. The main songs, "Ateş Et ve Unut" and "Karizma," were composed by Dugic. The album was downloaded 450,000 times from the internet in four days. The music video for "Ateş Et ve Unut" cost 50,000 dollars to make.

UNICEF Germany chose Mustafa Sandal as a European spokesperson for a campaign to help refugee children in Pakistan. Sandal was voted the most popular Turkish artist in Europe. He accepted the offer to help children. His fans from different countries reacted positively to his charity work.

In 2010, Mustafa Sandal and Gökben sang a duet called "Nevrin Döner." In June 2011, Mustafa Sandal and Gülben Ergen released the duet "Şıkır Şıkır." This song was downloaded over 133,000 times and became the best-selling digital song in Turkey in 2011.

In the summer of 2012, Sandal released the album Organik, calling it the "album of my life." The main song, "Ego," reached number one on digital music platforms. The album was also popular on social media. The music video for "Ego" was directed by Tülay İbak and featured 20 actors. Sandal's wife, Emina, was featured on the song "Çek Gönder." Sandal's concert in Beykoz, Istanbul, was attended by 150,000 people, which was a record. Sandal also became an ambassador for the School Olympic Games Project to promote sports for young people.

Recent Singles: 2013–Present

In 2013, Mustafa Sandal worked on a new single with Gülşen and Ozan Çolakoğlu. He released the single "Tesir Altında" on August 6, 2013, which became the best-selling single of that year. In the following years, Sandal continued to release many singles. These include "Reset" (with Eypio) (2018), "Gel Bana" (2019), and "Mod" (with Zeynep Bastık) (2019). All of these songs 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 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 a single called "Yanında" to honor healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The money from this song was donated to healthcare facilities. In September 2020, he released the single "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. In a 2021 New Year's special program on Kazakhstan's Astana TV, Sandal performed a Kazakh-Turkish version of his song "Mod" with Kazakh singer Indira Elemes. He also sang "Araba" and "İsyankar" solo.

Mustafa Sandal's Acting and TV Work

In 1993, Mustafa Sandal hosted a radio show called Kırmızı Işık. In 1995, he had a small role in the movie Bay E and sang its 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, he hosted the TV show Kimsin Sen on Star TV.

In 2011, Sandal starred 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 was a judge alongside Hülya Avşar, Hadise, and Murat Boz. The show was very popular. 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. He and his then-wife Emina Jahović earned a lot of money for a Turkcell commercial. He also appeared in three commercials for BP. For one commercial, he shared 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, Mustafa Sandal joined Turkey's team for the National Sports Synchronized Skiing World Championships. The championships were held in Aspen, Colorado. Sandal and his team came in 2nd and 3rd place in some races. They also placed 4th in synchronous landings.

Music Albums

• 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)

Movies and TV Shows

• 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)

TV Programs

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

See also

In Spanish: Mustafa Sandal para niños