Turkish Pop Music Heartthrob Tarkan Still Popping

[José Balido]

German-born Tarkan Tevetoğlu, 37, has been compared to a cross between Turkey's Elvis and Michael Jackson in terms of his impact on his country’s pop music scene, and he’s achieved a measure of fame abroad, as well, particularly in Europe. The dude garners A-list coverage from Turkish media, of course, for almost everything he does, whether it’s verbal gaffes; groundbreakingly racy video scenes; temporary military draft-dodging; shilling for Pepsi-Cola; scary run-ins with the paparazzi; a tiff with PETA over fur-wearing; or is-he-or-isn’t-he-gay. Vay Anam Vay is from Tarkan’s sixth and most recent album, Metamorfoz (“Metamorphosis”), released at the end of 2007 and less than critically acclaimed but still a commercial hit. The choreography’s slightly goofy and the lyrics fairly trite love-song yadda-yadda (“If she said die, I’d die for her / the arrow went straight into my heart”), but whatever — it’s a very club-ready, infectious bit of electropop with just a touch of Eurasian musical exoticism.