She was the lead vocalist of the all-female hard rock band Volvox[1] until 1994, after which she went on to pursue an illustrious solo career.

Şebnem Ferah was born on 12 April 1972 in Yalova to ethnic Turkish immigrant parents from Skopje (present-day North Macedonia).

She grew up listening to her father's Rumelian folk songs played with bağlama, mandolin and piano.

After graduating from high school, she attended Middle East Technical University, studying economics, and moved to Ankara with her sister.

In her second year at the university, Şebnem changed her mind about being an economist; instead she dropped out and moved back to Istanbul.

In 1996 Ferah released her first album Kadın (Woman), which contained some of her best known songs, including Vazgeçtim Dünyadan (I Gave up on the World), Yağmurlar (Rains), Bu Aşk Fazla Sana (This Love Is Too Much for You), and Fırtına (Storm).

In 2001, Ferah came up with a more acoustic third album, Perdeler (Curtains), two years after her father died in the 1999 İzmit earthquake.

The album was a low point in her career although it included "Ben Şarkımı Söylerken" ("While I'm Singing My Song") and "Mayın Tarlası" ("Minefield").