Arzu Şahin

Arzu Şahin — Biography

Arzu Şahin is a Turkish folk singer born on 9 September 1978. Her birthplace is given as Erzincan in some sources and Istanbul in others; she spent her childhood in Istanbul. Her family originally comes from Tunceli and moved first to Kelkit and then to Erzincan. She is known as an Alevi Kurdish performer.

She took an interest in the bağlama as a child and spent four years taking private bağlama and singing lessons. Her debut album, Ceylanım (1999), was well received and sold well on cassette, which spurred her on to make her second, Ayrılık (2002). Further albums followed: Düet (2004), Sus (2005), Ne Fayda (2008) and Ve... Aşk (2012). In 2004 she took part in the compilation Pir Sultan Dostları alongside Güler Duman, Gülay and Yusuf Hayaloğlu, and in 2007 she won Best Female Turkish Folk Music Artist at the 14th Kral TV Video Music Awards.

She performs often at concerts held by cemevis and local cultural institutions; the summer concerts at the cemevi in Didim and her nights in Çorum drew local press coverage, and Erzincan media present her as a singer from the province. She is married with two sons.