Jehan İstiklal Barbur (born 12 April 1980) is a Turkish singer of

Arab Christian Arab Christians () are the Arabs who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab Christians who live in the Middle East was estimated in 2012 to be between 10 and 15 million. Arab Christian communities can be found throughout the Arab world, bu ...

descent. In 2002, she moved from Ankara to Istanbul to pursue a professional music career, and initially worked as a vocalist in different pop and jazz groups. With

Bülent Ortaçgil Bülent Ortaçgil (born 1 March 1950) is a Turkish composer and singer. Biography He was born in Ankara, Turkey in 1950. He moved to Istanbul after starting elementary school which he finished at Sultanahmet Elementary School in Istanbul. He co ...

's help she signed a contract with the production company Ada Müzik. In 2009, her debut studio album, ''Uyan'', was released. She continued her music career with the release of her second studio album, ''Hayat'', in 2010. She released the albums ''Sarı'', ''Sizler Hiç Yokken'' and ''Evim Neresi'' in 2012, 2014, and 2017 respectively.

Early life

Barbur, whose family live in

İskenderun İskenderun (), historically known as Alexandretta (, ) and Scanderoon, is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Hatay Province, Turkey. Its area is 247 km2, and its population is 251,682 (2022). It is on the Mediterranean coas ...

, was born in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

as her mother believed that medical conditions in the Lebanese city were more favorable. After her birth, she spent her childhood in

, before moving to

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

to continue her education at a university. She had been interested in music ever since she was a child. However, due to her father's refusal to allow her to go to a conservatory, she enrolled in

Bilkent University Bilkent University () is a private non-profit research university located in Ankara, Turkey. It was founded by İhsan Doğramacı, the first president of the Council of Higher Education and the head of the prominent Doğramacı family, with th ...

, Faculty of Humanities and Letters, Department of American Culture and Literature. Barbur was interested in theater and music as an amateur during her university years. She graduated in 2002.

Career

After graduating from university, Barbur moved to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

to start her professional career. When she finally settled in the city, she didn't know any prominent figure in the music market. She tried to meet with musicians by going to venues where a number of them had live performances. After a two-year search, she started making music with a band. She performed in the same venue for four years. During her time there, she created a fan base of her own. Meanwhile, she started writing lyrics and composing at her home in an amateur studio. She eventually met

with a friend's help. After listening to the demos, Bülent Ortaçgil liked the lyrics and composition and said that she should make an album. However, Barbur had no intention of making an album initially. With Ortaçgil's help and with the support of her musician friends, she started to have a positive view on the idea of preparing an album. After a while, with Ortaçgil's suggestion, she signed a contract with the production company Ada Müzik. After working at a studio for six months, two thousand copies of her first album, ''Uyan'', were released. After its release, a number of its songs, including "Gidersen", "Leyla" and "Neden", became among the Top 10 hits on a number of music channels. Barbur later performed songs for the soundtracks of the TV series '' Asi'' and ''Sır Gibi''. She had a duet with

Özgür Çevik Özgür Çevik (born 27 May 1981) is a Turkish actor and singer who gained fame and intense fan following as a result of having appeared in his country's version of the television pop music talent contest, ''Star Academy'' and, subsequently, a ...

on a song made for the TV series '' Gece Sesleri''. Barbur also wrote the song "Şermin" for

Zuhal Olcay Zuhal Olcay (; born 10 August 1957) is a Turkish people, Turkish actress and singer. Biography Graduated from Ankara State Conservatory in 1976, she first started as a stage actress. She played in hit series :tr:Yeditepe İstanbul, Yeditepe İst ...

's album ''Aşk'ın Halleri''.

Discography

;Albums * ''Uyan'' (2009) * ''Hayat'' (2010) * ''Sarı'' (2012) * ''Sizler Hiç Yokken'' (2014) * ''Evim Neresi'' (2017) * ''Ürkerek Söylerim'' (2019) * ''Şehirlerden Uzak'' (2024) ;EPs * ''Kuzgun'u Uçmak'' (2018) ;Singles *"Kendine Zaman Ver" (2014) *"İki Keklik" (2019) *"Kusura Bakmasınlar" (2019) *"Yok / Yetinemedim" (2020) *"Ayin" (with Korhan Futacı) (2020) *"Suç" (2021) *"Olanlar Oldu" (2021) *"Güzel Şeyler Var" (2022) *"Sabır Ver" (from the album ''Saygı Albümü: Bergen'') (2022) *"Güneşli Bahçe" (with

Mehmet Güreli Mehmet Güreli (born 1949 in Istanbul) is a Turkish writer, painter, director and musician. He graduated from Istanbul University, majoring in philosophy. He started working for the ''Hürriyet ''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is a major List ...

) (2022) *"Yabancı" (with

Erkan Oğur Erkan Oğur (pronounced ) (born 17 April 1954) is a Turkish musician. As pioneer of fretless guitars, he invented the first fretless classical guitar in 1976.Martinelli, op. cit.Unfretted, op. cit. As composer, he has influenced many musicians wi ...

and Alp Ersönmez) (2022) *"Sonbahar Rüzgarları" (with

Ceylan Ertem Ceylan Ertem (born 26 December 1980) is a Turkish singer-songwriter. Early life and career Ceylan Ertem started her musical career by joining the Akhisar Municipality’s children choir. She started learning how to play piano in 1995 and move ...

) (from the album ''Duyuyor Musun?'') (2022) *"Kafamda Deliler Var" (2023) *"Hasret" (2023) *"Zor da Değil" (2023) *"Benim Adım Dertli Dolap" (with Cem Erdost İleri) (from the album ''PortakalAltı Kayıtları'') (2023) *"Duy Diye" (2024)

References

External links

*
Jehan Barburs official blog
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbur, Jehan 1980 births Living people Bilkent University alumni Arab Christians Turkish Arab people Turkish Christians Turkish jazz singers Turkish lyricists Turkish pop singers Turkish women bloggers Turkish bloggers Turkish women jazz singers Turkish women pop singers Turkish women singer-songwriters 21st-century Turkish women singers