Tarkan released his first studio album, Yine Sensiz, in late 1992, with "Kıl Oldum" being chosen as its lead single.

In the same year he signed a new contract with Universal Music Group, and in 1999 his compilation album, Tarkan, received platinum and gold certifications in several countries.

With the release in 2006 of his first English album, Come Closer, he became known in Europe: from this Long Play were selected "Bounce" and "Start the Fire" as the lead singles.

Alongside his music career, Tarkan has taken part in numerous social projects and is known as "Megastar" and "Prince of the Bosporus" in the press.

[1] One of few European singers who has managed to span chart success without singing in English, he is also noted for his live stage performances.

Tarkan's effect on Turkey has been compared by the Washington Post to that of Elvis Presley in the US around 1957 and Atlantic Records's co-founder Ahmet Ertegun described him as one of the best live performers he had ever seen.

[2] He has also been listed by Rhapsody as a key artist in the history of European pop music, with his signature song "Şımarık" as a keystone track that moved the genre forward.

[7][10] After finishing high school, he made plans to move to Germany for higher education and meanwhile he signed a contract with İstanbul Plak's owner Mehmet Söğütoğlu to release his first album.

Alongside "Kıl Oldum", he made music videos for the songs "Kimdi", "Gelip de Halimi Gördün mü?

[13] Artists Sezen Aksu, Ümit Sayın, Ozan Çolakoğlu and Yıldız Tilbe were among those who were featured on the album.

", "Unutmamalı", "Gül Döktüm Yollarına", "Kış Güneşi", "Şeytan Azapta", "Dön Bebeğim" and "Bekle" were the songs that got separate music videos.

[15] In 1994, he experienced a dip in his celebrity status after he made a gaffe during an interview on a live broadcast marking the anniversary of the private Turkish TV channel ATV.

[2] In part to remove himself from media scrutiny, Tarkan moved to New York in 1994 to learn English and complete his education at Baruch College.

Again Tarkan stripped for this project, but this time he was sharing a bed with a female American model for the slow love song.

[2] In 1997, Tarkan found his own production company Hitt Müzik and in the same year he released his third studio album Ölürüm Sana, which sold three and a half million copies.

[22] A copyright dispute erupted between Tarkan and Aksu over the track "Şımarık", which ultimately blocked the singer's chance to release an English-language version of the song.

[25] As the first artist of Turkish origin to sell 500,000 albums in France, in an interview for CNN he said: "It feels wild, you know, because in the beginning I never thought it was going to really happen.

[29] Tarkan wrote and composed six of the songs, and Nazan Öncel, Mete Özgencil and Mazhar Alanson helped in its preparing.

[33] Tarkan's so-called Karma-era style projected an image totally different from his earlier persona in respect to both music and looks.

According to the court's decision the book published personal information and copyrighted photos of the artist, and violated his good reputation.

[38] Tarkan's EP album Dudu was produced by Ozan Çolakoğlu and released in summer 2003 in Turkey, Ukraine, Russia and Japan.

[39] It was the first album of its kind to sell over a million copies in Turkey, while the title track won Tarkan a "Song of the Year Award" in Russia.

[27] "Dudu", "Sorma Kalbim", "Gülümse Kaderine" and "Uzun İnce Bir Yoldayım", were the song from the EP that were made into music videos.

The plans for Come Closer had begun in 1995, when media mogul Ahmet Ertegun encouraged Tarkan to break into the international market.

[44][45] A Turkish music pirate, well before the official release, leaked four stolen demo recordings from the debut English album onto the internet.

The leaked songs garnered considerable airplay in dance clubs in Turkey before Tarkan's management took legal action against DJ's playing them.

[62] On 22 August 2014, he became the first Turkish singer to perform at the closing concert of Monte Carlo Sporting Summer Festival on its fortieth anniversary.

At the 43rd Golden Butterfly Awards, Ahde Vefâ was chosen as the "Best Project" in the Turkish Classical Music category.

[74] According to Ahmet Ertegun: "He's a great dancer, he moves beautifully, and he has the magic that all big hit artists share, which is the ability to get an emotion across through a recording.

[91] Tarkan, who had been suffering from sleeping issues and voice disorders due to thyroid nodules, underwent a successful surgery at Maslak Acıbadem Hospital in June 2019.