Şebnem Paker

Şebnem Paker — Biography

Şebnem Paker is a Turkish singer, guitarist and music teacher, born on 20 July 1977 in Istanbul. After finishing Haydarpaşa High School, she studied classical guitar at the Istanbul University State Conservatory before training in vocal performance at Marmara University.

In 1996 she won Turkey's national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Beşinci Mevsim" and placed twelfth representing her country in Oslo. The following year, performing with Grup Etnik, she won the national final again with "Dinle," finishing third at the contest held in Dublin; the song also lent its title to her only studio album, released in 1997. She competed once more in the 1998 national final with the song "Çal," but did not secure the right to represent Turkey again.

After graduating from Marmara University's vocal performance program in 2000, Paker moved away from the stage and into education. She has worked as a music teacher since 2004, and in 2023 was assigned to a school in the Milas district of Muğla.