Superstar Ajda Pekkan getting ready for stadium concert

ISTANBUL

Turkish singer Ajda Pekkan, known as “superstar,” has unveiled details for her upcoming concert at Istanbul’s Beşiktaş Tüpraş Stadium on June 12, including the lineup for the event titled "Ajda Pekkan and Her Friends."

In the first stadium concert of her long-time music career, Pekkan will present a visual show during the concert to be accompanied by many artists.

"It is a little exciting to be in such a big place after many years. It would be wrong to say that I am not excited. I hope everything will be great. It is very a good project, a good format. There are artists of the new generation that I like very much. I made duets with some of them. I made a song for them. We are progressing very well. We make a lot of effort to turn what we dream into reality,” Pekkan said during a press conference on May 7, noting that she will be performing a duet with artists of the new generation.

Pekkan revealed that Selda Bağcan, Nilüfer, Işın Karaca, Hande Yener, Sıla, Cem Adrian, Mabel Matiz, Mert Demir, Semicenk, Norm Ender and his choir and Dolapdere Big Bang will accompany her on the stage during the concert.

“I have rehearsals with these friends and with my own big orchestra. These rehearsals will last at least five to six days. And after that, we are waiting for you all at the concert. I believe it will be a good concert,” she said.

The superstar stated that she had a very busy schedule during the rehearsal process for the concert, adding, “I am already on a diet. I do my exercise and live carefully. Because we all need a healthy life in older years.”

Pekkan responded to the criticisms for not making original music, saying, "I can't write lyrics. I've tried it so many times, but it doesn't work. But now I am enjoying Ajda Pekkan. I need to appreciate it. Why am I singing covers? I receive criticism for not singing original music. But those songs, those covers made me the Ajda Pekkan I am today.”

Tickets for the concert are on sale.

Born in 1946 in Istanbul, Pekkan has a career spanning over five decades. She was the recipient of Presidential Culture and Arts Grand Award in the fields of music in 2022. She shot to fame in the 1970s where she appeared in a series of films before becoming a professional singer.

Her recording of the song "Kimler Geldi Kimler Geçti" became a big hit in 1973. In 1978, she released the French album, “Pour Lui.”

In 1980 she represented Türkiye in the Eurovision song contest which launched her career in the U.S. And in 2009, the New York Times compared her to Cher 'without the campiness and with considerable more cosmopolitan reach.'

In 2016, Pekkan was one of four of Türkiye’s 'most powerful women' to be invited to the U.S. for 'The Hollywood Reporter's Women in Entertainment Power 100' event, alongside A-listers Susan Sarandon, Emma Stone and Jessica Lange.