TRT has finally announced their decision to send the 34 year old megastar Kenan Dogulu to represent Turkey at the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki. The turkish public will have the opportunity to select the song by televoting from a choice of three songs in February- the date will be announced shortly. Whether the song will be in Turkish or English is entirely up to the artist himself, so it just possible that we will be seeing a song in English after all. Kenan is reported to have already contacted major European names to discuss and prepare the choreography and direction of his act.
Kenan Doğulu has been ruling the turkish music scene for the past ten years. Born in 1972, he showed his great talent at the age of five when he achieved highest scores at the School of Music, where he studied the piano for 6 years. He then went on to study the flute and the guitar. Meanwhile he took drama lessons becoming thus a complete performing artist. He furthered his education by studying at the Kültür Koleji and Hesser College, New Hampshire, USA where he studied Communications. After that he enrolled in an undergraduate program in the L.A. Musicians Institute and proceeded to finish his studies at the Music Department of the Bilgi University in Istanbul.
Kenan released his first album Yaparim Bilirsin in 1993, to be followed the next year by Simsiki Siki Siki. As his strong point is performing live, Kenan reached record numbers of live appearances with 93 concerts in 1993 and the astounding number of 175 in 1994. His next album, released in 1996, was called Kenan Doğulu 3 and it became quickly a national hit.
His arrangements of the Decennial March ( 1997) and two years later the Youth March ( dedicated to the memory of Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ) are believed to have played a great part in conveying the spirit of nationalism to younger generations.
In 1999, Kenan releases Ben Senin Herseyinim and then he takes a two year break from discography. In 2001 he releases Ex Askim, which was followed by the uplugged version Kenan Doğulu 5.5 a year later which was equally successful. Since then there have been three more albums, Demedi Deme in 2003, Kenan Doğulu 6.5 in 2004 and finally Festival in 2006, where he collaborated with Turkish superstar Sezen Aksu for the song Cakkidi. Sezen, together with Ajda Pekkan are considered to be the true megastars of the turkish pop music scene. Many of the songs in the album have been written and composed by the artist himself. Kenan has been reported to be happy to perform one of Sezen's songs at Helsinki.
Since 2003 Kenan has created his own production company, Doğulu Sound and Light LTD, which produces his own records as well as those of other turkish artists’. Kenan’s appearance in the Eurovision Song Contest will probably aid his carefully drawn plans for an international career.
Click here to be directed to Kenan's official site where you can listen to his songs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dpkk-oONYaI
