Ziynet Sali facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ziynet Sali
Sali in 2011
Background information
Birth name	Ziynet Sali Safter
Born	(1975-04-29) 29 April 1975 (age 50) Nicosia, Turkish Federated State of Cyprus
Genres	Pop rebetiko (formerly) classical Turkish music (formerly)
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	1999–present
Labels	DMC Dost Müzik GNL Entertainment Ozan Video Zorba

Ziynet Sali Safter (born 29 April 1975) is a talented singer from Cyprus. She also has British citizenship. Her music today is mostly pop. In the past, she also sang rebetiko (a type of Greek folk music) and classical Turkish music.

Ziynet Sali was born in Nicosia, Cyprus. She moved to England with her family for a short time. In 1981, she returned to Cyprus and finished her schooling there. In 1994, she moved to Istanbul, Turkey, to study music. She graduated from the ITU Turkish Music State Conservatory in 1999. While studying, she started singing professionally.

Her first album, Ba-Ba, came out in 2000. It had only Turkish songs. Her second album, Amman Kuzum, released in 2004, also included Greek songs. A new version of this album, Chiculata+1 (Amman Kuzum), came out in 2005. Her third album, Mor Yıllar, was released in 2006.

After her fourth album, Herkes Evine, in 2008, a new version called Bizde Böyle + Herkes Evine was released. In 2010, her song "Rüya" became her first number-one hit in Turkey. She continued to release popular songs like "Bize Yeter" (2010). Her first collection of songs, Collection, came out in 2011.

In 2012, she released her fifth album, Sonsuz Ol. A special edition, Sonsuz Ol + Remixes, followed. In 2013, she released her first live album, Bir Akdeniz Rüyası. She continued to release singles like "Gelemiyorum Yanına" (2013) and "Bugün Adım Leyla" (2014). Her sixth album, No 6, was released in 2015. Since then, she has released many popular singles, including her first English song, "Magic" (2017). Ziynet Sali has won many awards for her music, including two Turkey Music Awards.

Early Life and Education

Ziynet Sali Safter was born on 29 April 1975. She was one of three children. Her parents were Turkish Cypriots living in Nicosia, the capital of the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus at that time. Her father had lived in London before. He moved back to Cyprus after meeting Ziynet's mother.

After Ziynet was born, her family lived in London for a while. This is how she got her British citizenship. She later returned to Cyprus for her primary and secondary education. She graduated from Polatpaşa High School in Lysi. After high school, she joined the classical Turkish music choir of the Ministry of National Education and Culture.

In 1994, Ziynet moved to Istanbul, Turkey. She went to the Istanbul Technical University Turkish Music State Conservatory. While studying, she began her professional music career. She finished her studies and graduated from the conservatory in 1999.

Music Career

Early Years and First Albums (1999–2007)

Ziynet Sali in 2006

After finishing her music studies, Ziynet Sali started performing in different places. In 1999, she worked as a secretary at Dost Müzik. She later became a press consultant there.

Her first album, Ba-Ba, was released in 2000 by Dost Müzik. A music video was made for the main song, "Ba-Ba". After this, she started learning Greek music. She also began singing Greek songs in her live shows.

In September 2004, her second album, Amman Kuzum, came out. It had both Turkish and Greek pop songs. Music videos were made for "Yürek Yaralı Büyüyor" and "Amman Kuzum". In 2005, a new version of the album was released. It was called Chiculata+1 (Amman Kuzum) and included new remixes and a song called "Chiculata".

Her third album, Mor Yıllar, was released in September 2006. This album also had Greek and Turkish songs. Music videos were made for "Zordur Oğlum" and "Mor Yıllar". Ziynet Sali also appeared on TV shows. She was in Cennet Mahallesi in 2006 and Arka Sokaklar in 2007. She also acted in her first movie, Son Osmanlı Yandım Ali, in 2007. In this movie, she played a Greek singer. She also had a role as a night club singer in the TV series Kartallar Yüksek Uçar.

Hit Songs and New Albums (2008–2011)

In September 2008, Ziynet Sali's fourth album, Herkes Evine, was released. She worked with famous artists like Sezen Aksu and Sinan Akçıl on this album. It had two CDs, one with Turkish songs and one with Greek songs. Music videos were made for "Herkes Evine", "Beş Çayı", and "Hava Hoş".

In September 2009, a new version of the album came out. It was called Bizde Böyle + Herkes Evine and included a new song, "Bizde Böyle". A music video was also made for this song. Ziynet Sali won the Best Song, Composition and Lyrics award in December 2009. She also appeared in a New Year's Eve TV special for the show Geniş Aile.

Ziynet Sali performing in 2010

In January 2010, her song "Rüya" was released. It quickly became the number one song on Turkish radio stations. "Rüya" won the Single Album of the Year award in March. Ziynet Sali also won the Best Female Pop Live Performance award in February 2010. She sang on other artists' albums, including Ozan Doğulu's 130 Bpm and Enbe Orkestrası's Kalbim. A music video was released for "Sen Mutlu Ol" in July.

In December 2010, she released another song, "Bize Yeter", with a music video. In February 2011, her first collection album, Collection, was released. It included songs from her previous albums and her hit singles. In May 2011, "Rüya" won the Kral Music Award for the Most Played Song on Radio. She was also nominated for Best Female Singer and Best Song for "Rüya".

Continued Success and Live Performances (2012–2016)

In February 2012, Ziynet Sali released "Alışkın Değiliz". This song was a preview for her fifth album, Sonsuz Ol. The album came out in April 2012. She worked with many famous artists like Sinan Akçıl, Sezen Aksu, Kenan Doğulu, Sıla, and Yıldız Tilbe. Music videos were made for several songs from the album.

In August 2012, an album called Sonsuz Ol + Remixes was released. It included her Sonsuz Ol album and remixes of her old and new songs. In October 2012, she sang "Sevenler Ağlarmış" on Hüseyin Karadayı's album Diskomatik.

Her concert in Istanbul on 8 September 2012 was recorded. It was released as her first live album, Bir Akdeniz Rüyası, in 2013. Her music video for "Her Şey Çok Güzel Olacak" won the Best Music Video award at the 1st Turkey Music Awards in April 2013. It also won the same award at the 3rd Pal FM Music Awards.

In November 2013, she released the song "Gelemiyorum Yanına". In December 2013, she won the Best Female Pop Artist award. In 2014, she was a judge on the TV show X Factor. She also appeared on the TV show Arkadaşım Hoşgeldin. Her song "Benim Adım Leyla" was released in September 2014 with a music video. In November 2014, her three-CD album Bugün Adım Leyla was released.

In February 2015, she sang a duet called "İstanbul" with Hayyam Nisanov. Her sixth album, No 6, was released in July 2015. Many songs from this album had music videos, including "Mevsimsizim" and "Dağınık Yatak". In January 2016, she won Best Female Artist and Best Album for No 6. She also sang "Yağmur" with Ozan Doğulu in August 2016. At the Daf Bama Music Awards, she won Best Artist from the Mediterranean and Best Female Turkish Artist.

Recent Works (2017–Present)

In January 2017, Ziynet Sali worked with Enbe Orkestrası on their song "Bir Melekten Hediye". She also appeared in its music video. In May 2017, she won the Female Musician of the Year award. In October, she released another song, "Ağlar mıyım? Ağlamam".

In November 2017, her first English song, "Magic", was released. It featured Anthony Johnson and had a music video. In May 2018, her song "Deli Divanenim" came out. It was written by Sezen Aksu. Ziynet Sali won the Best Foreign Single of the Year award for "Magic" in June 2018. In August 2018, she released "Hadi Hoppalara" with Berk Coşkun.

On 6 February 2019, she released a cover of Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" on YouTube. This was a tribute to his birthday. On 14 March, she released a cover of Ferdi Tayfur's song "Bana da Söyle". This song was number one on Turkey's music chart for five weeks.

On 10 February 2020, Ziynet Sali released her song "Ömrüm" for Valentine's Day. Her husband appeared in the music video for this song. Her album Yaşam Çiçeği was released in 2021. She has continued to release many singles since then, including "Sana Doyamıyorum" (2022), "Duy İstanbul" (2023), and "Adresi Sormadım" (2023). Her latest songs include "Yandım Ateşinle" (2024) and "Bronz Ten" (2024).

Music Style

Ziynet Sali started singing Greek music from her first album. She used to sing rebetiko songs, which are a type of Greek folk music. Now, she mostly performs pop songs.

Personal Life

Ziynet Sali has two brothers. She lives in an apartment in Gayrettepe, Istanbul. She also owns a villa in Çatalköy and an apartment in Dereboyu, North Nicosia. On 15 September 2019, Ziynet Sali married Erkan Erzurumlu in Northern Cyprus.

Discography

Studio Albums

• Ba-Ba (2000)
• Amman Kuzum (2004)
• Mor Yıllar (2006)
• Herkes Evine (2008)
• Sonsuz Ol (2012)
• No 6 (2015)
• Yaşam Çiçeği (2021)

Compilation Albums

• Chiculata+1 (Amman Kuzum) (2005)
• Bizde Böyle + Herkes Evine (2009)
• Collection (2011)
• Sonsuz Ol + Remixes (2012)

Live Albums

• Bir Akdeniz Rüyası (2013)

Singles

• "Rüya" (2009)
• "Bize Yeter" (2010)
• "Alışkın Değiliz" (2012)
• "Gelemiyorum Yanına" (2013)
• "Bugün Adım Leyla" (2014)
• "Follow Me" (ft. GülSara) (2015)
• "Yağmur" (with Ozan Doğulu) (2016)
• "Bir Melekten Hediye" (ft. Enbe Orkestrası) (2017)
• "Ağlar mıyım? Ağlamam" (2017)
• "Magic" (ft. Marshall) (2017)
• "Deli Divanenim" (2018)
• "Hadi Hoppalara" (ft. Berk Coşkun) (2018)
• "Sanane Be" (2018)
• "Bana da Söyle" (2019)
• "Ömrüm" (2020)
• "Yara" (ft. Bilal Sonses) (2020)
• "Kalbim Tatilde" (2020)
• "Sana Doyamıyorum" (2022)
• "Bozulmuş Kalbim" (with Semicenk and İlkan Günüç) (2022)
• "Aşk Nerede" (2022)
• "Duy İstanbul" (2023)
• "Adresi Sormadım" (2023)
• "İmkânsız Bir Aşk Denir" (2024)
• "Daha Nasıl Sevebilirim" (2024)
• "Yandım Ateşinle" (2024)
• "Bronz Ten" (2024)
• "Müptelanım Bilgine" (2024)
• "Uyku Tutmadı" (2025)
• "Bir Garip Olur İçim" (2025)

Filmography

Awards and Nominations