Turkish social media debates if Adele song was ‘inspired’ by Ahmet Kaya
ISTANBUL
Photo credit @norskdark Twitter account
A song from famous British singer Adele’s latest album “25” has created a storm on social media, as users were divided over whether the tune resembled one of iconic Kurdish singer Ahmet Kaya’s songs.“Million years ago,” a song from Adele’s first album after a five-year break from her massively successful “21,” struck Turkish music lovers over its resemblance to an old song by Kaya called “Acılara tutunmak” (clinging to pain).
While some users were awed at the likeness of Adele’s tune with the song by Kaya, a once-demonized Kurdish singer who passed away some 15 years ago, others mocked the situation by making a reference to the country’s nationalist tendencies.
“Adele stole a song from us,” one user said, sharing a picture of a man hanging a Turkish flag to his balcony in protest.
“I am expecting Adele to release a statement saying, ‘I do not support his [Ahmet Kaya’s] opinions but God knows his music is great,’” another user tweeted.
People also shared collages of Adele’s and Kaya’s photographs, accusing Adele of “theft,” while a number of websites utilized Twitter’s latest polling function to consult their followers on whether they thought Adele was inspired by Kaya in writing “Million years ago.”
Meanwhile, Kaya’s wife, Gülten Kaya, commented to Turkish daily Posta on the allegations, stating she did not believe Adele would resort to stealing a song.
“However, if she consciously did it, then it would be theft,” she said.
In addition, Naim Dilmener, a music critic and the author of several books on Turkish music, told state-run Anadolu Agency that there were some similarities between the two songs but "not too much."
"I don't think Adele listened to Ahmet Kaya's song and copied it deliberately," Dilmener said, adding that he tought it was "an easy tune to figure out."
