Levent Yüksel

Levent Yüksel — Biography

Levent Uğur Yüksel was born on 21 October 1964 in Antalya. After Antalya Lisesi he moved to Istanbul, completing the double bass program at what is now the Istanbul University State Conservatory while working as a nightclub session bassist. After military service he spent two years in a nightclub orchestra with Fatih Erkoç and Sertab Erener, his future first wife; introduced to Sezen Aksu through Aykut Gürel, he began working with her after her vocalist Harun Kolçak fell ill one evening and Yüksel stepped in to sing and play bass.

His May 1993 debut album, Med Cezir, established him as a fresh voice in Turkish pop. He followed it with a second album in 1996, the best-selling single of 1997, "Bi'Daha," the 1998 record Adı Menekşe, a 2000 comeback with Aşkla, and 2004's Uslanmadım, covering Orhan Gencebay's "Yarabbim." His seventh album, 2006's Kadın Şarkıları, reinterpreted older songs sung by women, and he later released Sıfır Km, Topyekûn and Hayatıma Dokunan Şarkılar.

He married Sertab Erener in 1990 and divorced her in 1996, later calling their split "an example for everyone to follow"; in 2020 he married sports executive Özlem Öztürk. Marking three decades on stage with a concert series titled "30. Yıl Senfonik," he shared the stage with Hande Yener at the İstanbul Festival in August 2026 and later played Yapı Kredi bomontiada's "World Akustik" stage.