Yüksek Sadakat (Turkey) 1st press conference

The band’s songwriter Kutlu Özmakinaci founded the band in 1997, but it wasn’t until 2006, that their debut album premiered: "Belki Üstümüzden Bir Kuş Geçer" (English: ‘Perhaps a Bird Will Fly Overhead’). Together with such bands as Manga, Gripin, and Mor ve Ötesi, they are considered among the most successful bands in Turkey today, with countless additional fans in Germany, Holland, Belgium, and Switzerland.

Although the band members have been familiar with the Eurovision contest since childhood, they spent some time researching past contests before they made their final musical selection. Says lead vocalist Kenan Vural: “We wrote a song that reflects us. We listened to all the songs of the last ten years and noticed that up-tempo songs are more successful, so we wanted to show our energy.”

There was a certain amount of debate among the band members about whether to sing in Turkish or in English, but the band finally decided to take an international approach. Vural confesses: “I actually wanted to sing in Turkish. But then we looked at the past and the most successful songs were in English. If 120 million people are watching you, you’d better say something that people will understand and English was the best way to do that.”

Each of the band members has careers extending over 20 years and so they are taking a relaxed, but focused approach to the contest. “We’ve played on all different stages and audiences. I used to play in bars with ten to 15 people. Singing in front of 120 million people is much better.”

The band is saving a surprise for the end of their performance, and the suspense will be building to find out what it is. Good luck to Turkey!