The Day Is Now: Ebru Gündeş and "Bir Gün Olacak"

Today's random tune takes the flavor of Turkish pop. Born in Istanbul, Ebru Gündeş was forced to discontinue school after her primary years because of financial difficulties. Luckily, her voice was discovered when one of her relatives took her to be heard by a record label executive, who was impressed and introduced her to music producers. Gündeş sings tragic arabesque songs which lie at the core of Turkish pop. She is not only popular in Turkey, but also in Azerbaijan. She is also highly regarded in Iran due to the large Turkic minority there and has been called one of Iran's favorite singers. Most of her albums have been highly successful. Not only has she appeared on television as a singer, she is now an actress in a Turkish comedy series and was host of the hugely popular Mega Show, which was your standard variety show. She also was a guest judge on Popstar Alaturka, a talent show along the lines of American Idol or The Voice. Her career has been somewhat hampered by health issue - she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in 1999 entailing two operations - but she is back in full health. This song, Bir Gün Olacak, can be found on her 2011 album Beyaz.

A Strong Reaction: Işın Karaca and "Hor Görme Garibi"

From the United Kingdom comes today's tune, Hor Görme Garibi by Işın Karaca. Born in Britain, Işın Karaca's parents had emigrated from Turkish Cyprus. Karaca began her career as a backing vocalist for the great Turkish singer Sezen Aksu, who helped Karaca release her debut album. Known primarily as a pop star, Karaca released a series of albums that consisted of arabesque covers. Hor Görme Garibi is from the first of her arabesque themed albums, called Arabesque (2010).