Kutsi

Kutsi — Biography

Kutsi, born Ahmet Kutsi Karadoğan, is a pop singer, composer and songwriter who also works as a television actor. He took his stage name from the poet Ahmet Kutsi Tecer. On screen he is remembered above all as Levent Atahanlı in Doktorlar; in music, his album Aynadaki Yüzünün Karşılığı Benim reached the top of the charts in 2008.

He grew up in Ankara, finished Ayrancı Anadolu Lisesi and left an architecture degree unfinished. He bought his first guitar with scratch-card winnings and came to Istanbul with a small album of his own compositions. Producer Erol Köse took him on, and in 2000 he made his first album, Aşk Payını Aldı, in just 26 days; after a long gap, Sana Ne (2005) was his real breakthrough. In those years he wrote songs for Nalan and Berksan, recorded a duet with Petek Dinçöz and hosted the programme İlan-ı Aşk on Kral TV. His 2007 album Aynı Şehirde Nefes Almak Bile Bana Yetiyor was recorded entirely live, with Cengiz Kurtoğlu's support and the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra under Osman İşmen.

He began acting in 2006 with Doktorlar, followed by Kahramanlar (Yiğit Özkan), Huzur Sokağı (Bilal Ocak), Beyaz Yalan (Demir Güner), Kalbimdeki Deniz (Mirat Yavuz), Benim Adım Melek (Halil Şirhan) and Annemizi Saklarken (Dündar Demir). He released the albums Bilmem Anlatabildim Mi in 2013 and Kutsi En İyiler (Akustik) in 2023.