Today, October 29, is Republic Day (Cumhuriyet Bayrami) in Turkey. It is a public holiday that commemorates the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey, which occurred on October 29 in 1923, declared by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. To celebrate the Turkish Republic Day, the Aussievision team has ranked their favourite Eurovision entries.
Debuting in 1975, Turkey has competed 35 times, however, sadly we haven't seen them in the Contest since 2012. We were given a few glimpses of hope this year at a possible return to Eurovision, however, 2022 will not be that year.
The Aussievision team have re-watched and ranked every Turkish entry at Eurovision. We hope you enjoy the countdown!
26th (1993) - Burak Aydos - 'Esmer Yarim' - 2 points
25th (1980) - Ajda Pekkan - 'Pet'r Oil' - 4 points
22nd (1996) - Şebnem Paker- 'Beşinci Mevsim' - 6 points
=18th (2011) - Yüksek Sadakat - 'Live It Up' - 7 points
=18th (1987) - Seyyal Taner and Lokomotif - 'Şarkım Sevgi Üstüne' - 7 points
=18th (1986) - Klips ve Onlar - 'Halley' - 7 points
=18th (1978) - Semiha Yankı - 'Seninle Bir Dakika' - 7 points
=15th (1991) - İzel Çeliköz, Reyhan Karaca & Can Uğurluer - 'İki Dakika' - 9 points
=15th (1985) - MFÖ - 'Diday Diday Day' - 9 points
13th (2000) - Pınar Ayhan and Grup SOS - 'Yorgunum Anla' - 14 points
12th (2005) - Gülseren - 'Rimi Rimi Ley' - 16 points
11th (1982) - Neco - 'Hani?' - 17 points
'Sev' was performed by Arzu Ece at the 1995 Contest held in Dublin. Arzu was no stranger to the Eurovision stage as she competed in Eurovision 1989 as part of the group, Pan. This time it was a solo effort for Arzu and her ballad 'Sev' placed 16th overall. The Aussievision team ranked 'Sev' in 10th place with 19 points.
9th place - Kenan Doğulu - 'Shake It Up Şekerim' (2007) 25 points
And now for a change of pace, we have the 2007 Turkish entrant Kenan Doğulu's 'Shake It Up Şekerim'. This song did extremely well in the Contest by finishing in 4th place, continuing Turkey's good track record in the 2000s at Eurovision. While sung mostly in English, 'shekerim' translates loosely to sweetheart.
8th place - Sibel Tüzün - 'Superstar' (2006) 34 points
(10 points from Kyriakos, 8 points from Fleur)
Sibel Tüzün represented Turkey in 2006 with her epic dance floor anthem 'Superstar'. Sibel finished in 11th place in the Grand Final, just outside the top 10, but fared better in our rankings finishing in 8th place.
7th place - Mor ve Ötesi - 'Deli' (2008) 41 points
(12 points from Wade, 10 points from Hayley, 8 points from Tim and Steven)
Mor Ve Ötesi were already a hugely successful rock band in Turkey when they represented their country in Belgrade at the 2008 Contest with their song 'Deli'. 'Deli' song finished in 7th place in the Grand Final, and also in 7th place in the Aussievision ranking.
(12 points from Fleur, 10 points from Dale)
In 2004, Athena were lucky enough to perform in front of a home crowd in Istanbul following Turkey's 2003 win. The upbeat ska-punk 'For Real' gave another good result for Turkey by finishing in 4th place in the Grand Final. It is popular among the Aussievision team sitting at 6th place.
5th place - Can Bonomo - 'Love Me Back' (2012) 54 points
(8 points from Emma, Josh and Cooper)
Can Bonomo's 'Love Me Back' has been ranked in 5th place by the Aussievision team. On stage, 'Love Me Back' had a nautical feel and made clever use of costumes to give the impression of being at sea. In 2012, Turkey finished in 7th place and sadly, this was the last time we have seen them at Eurovision.
4th place - Şebnem Paker and Grup Etnik - 'Dinle' (1997) 85 points
(12 points from Laura and Ally, 8 points from Dale and Wade)
Sebnem Paker represented Turkey two years in a row, and in 1997 in Dublin she achieved Turkey's best result (at the time) with a 3rd place, accompanied by Grup Etnik singing 'Dinle'. This song proved to be a hit with the Aussievision team, with every member giving it points, including two sets of 12 points.
3rd place - maNga - 'We Could Be The Same' (2010) 93 points
(12 points from Tim, 10 points from Josh, Wade, Laura and Fleur and 8 points from Hayley and Craig)
In 2010, Turkey brought another rock act to Eurovision in the form of maNga's 'We Could Be The Same' and they came close to winning for a second time by finishing 2nd in the Grand Final. MaNga gave us captivating staging and this song remains a favourite with rock-loving Eurovision fans.
2nd place - Hadise - 'Düm Tek Tek' (2009) 105 points
(12 points from Emma and Steven, 10 points from Craig, Cooper and Ally and 8 points from Kyriakos and Laura)
It is probably no surprise that Hadise's 'Düm Tek Tek' ranked in 2nd place with the Aussievision team, as we do love our pop! Hadise brought us a feast for the eyes and ears with belly dancing, lots of red and a very catchy song! Turkey finished in 4th place in the 2009 Grand Final held in Moscow. 'Düm Tek Tek' received two lots of 12 points from the team.
1st place - Sertab Erener - 'Everyway That I Can' (2003) 127 points
(12 points from Josh, Hayley, Kyriakos, Dale, Craig and Cooper, 10 points from Emma, Tim and Steven, and Laura, 8 points from Ally)
In 2003, Sertab Erener made history as Turkey's first winner at the Eurovision Song Contest, and what an iconic entry it is! 'Everyway That I Can' was the first Turkish song to be sung in English and featured barefoot belly dancing and traditional Turkish instruments. Some fans even say this song revived Eurovision. 'Everyway That I Can' also became a hit across many European countries.
The Aussievision deemed this the winner of the Turkish poll, with all team members giving points, including 6 sets of 12 points. A well deserved winner!
We love the flavour and versatility in music that Turkey brings to Eurovision, so we do hope to see Turkey back again soon, maybe 2023 will be the year!