Artist
Sertab
Why we feature this artist The wider songbook around Everyway That I Can Sertab Erener was an established Turkish singer long before one three-minute performance became an international introduction. Her voice can be agile, forceful and carefully controlled, w…
- From
- Turkey
- Sound
- Pop, classical Turkish music, rock
- Active
- 1987–present
Start with the music
Tracks to explore
The artist, in context
The story of Sertab
Why we feature this artist
The wider songbook around Everyway That I Can
Sertab Erener was an established Turkish singer long before one three-minute performance became an international introduction. Her voice can be agile, forceful and carefully controlled, with a repertoire extending across several different kinds of pop arrangement. Everyway That I Can brought a new audience, but the albums before and after it provide a much fuller account of the musician.
The Turkish albums
Erener released Sakin Ol! in 1992 with support from Sezen Aksu and a group of prominent collaborators. The first album established a singer with a substantial technical range and a strong sense of melodic shape. Lâ'l followed in 1994, helping deepen the catalogue beyond a single introductory statement and placing the voice inside another set of carefully written songs.
Her recording work did not stay inside one fixed instrumental language. Turkish pop could accommodate local melodic inflections, contemporary electronic rhythm, rock colour and more exposed ballad settings. Erener's control allowed her to move between them without making each change sound like a separate musical identity. The expressive force came as much from phrasing and timing as from the most conspicuous high notes.
The Eurovision recording and later work
Everyway That I Can won Eurovision for Türkiye in Riga in 2003. Written with Demir Demirkan, the song placed a direct English-language hook over a rhythmically distinctive arrangement. The short contest format suited its immediate musical gestures, while the vocal kept the changing instrumental details connected to one clear emotional demand.
No Boundaries followed in 2004, extending the English-language recording chapter. Rengârenk in 2010 returned the focus to a broad Turkish-language pop setting, with the catalogue continuing in several directions afterward. The contrast between these albums makes the famous contest song easier to place: a particularly effective international single within an already substantial career, rather than the moment a singer without a history suddenly appeared.
Essential releases
Sakin Ol!
The debut introduces Erener within a strong Turkish songwriting and production setting.
Lâ’l
An early album that gives the voice a more substantial catalogue beyond the first breakthrough.
Rengârenk
A later Turkish-language pop album that shows the breadth of the career after the international contest success.