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Tarkan Tevetoglu, popularly known as Tarkan, is a World Music award winning German-born Turkish pop singer. He has been nicknamed the "Prince of Pop" by the media. Tarkan was born in Alzey, Germany, to Ali and Nese Tevetoglu, and was named after a popular 1960s Turkish comic book character. The name is said to originate from an ancient Turkic king or title, meaning bold and strong.

His parents were part of the generation of Turkish immigrants that came to West Germany during that country's economic boom. Although Tarkan was raised in Alzey until the age of 13, his father suddenly decided to move the family back to Turkey in 1986. His father died of a heart attack in 1995 at the age of 49. Tarkan keeps close ties with his family in Turkey and Germany. He still understands the German language though speaks little, since he has been living in America and Turkey for 20 years.

Tarkan has charted in Russia, Europe and in the Americas with his definitive song "Simarik" (Spoilt/Kiss Kiss/Chanson Du Bisou/Besos). As a result of its widespread success and immediately recognizable sound of Tarkan kissing on the track, "Simarik" was reincarnated into English as "Kiss Kiss" by Stella Soleil and later Holly Valance(which notched her a UK number one hit), after the composer Sezen Aksu sold the music rights. It has been covered by various artists across the world in various languages. Another successful Aksu collaboration was the hit single "Sikidim" (Shake). His entry into the European musical consciousness kick-started a Turkish pop boom in Germany and Turkey in the 1990s, with his European successes on the verge of the new millennium signalling that the musical borders between Turkey and Europe, more specifically Germany, were dissolving. Because of his success his name was to be taken for granted domestically, if not become a hallmark, in pop music and become the prime example of Turkish pop obtaining an audience outside Turkey to help further the sound development of popular music in Europe. Over the years his works have maintained their popularity, with Tarkan's 2007 studio album Metamorfoz selling over a quarter of a million copies in the first two weeks of its release on December 25, 2007.

Tarkan is undoubtedly one of the most popular singers in Turkey. In addition to his record-breaking album sales, he is known for staging concerts that draw tens of thousands of people. In 2004, at the "Karadeniz Eregli Love, Peace and Friendship Festival" approximately 700,000 people watched his concert, while in 2006 authorities reported almost the same numbers. In 2006 he also performed in Eastern Thrace, in front of an audience of 50,000.

His popular image has been courted by several companies; he became the face first for Pepsi, then for two Turkish telephone companies, Turkcell and Avea. His 2003 tour was sponsored by Opet and he shot three television advertisements for them.

In recent years, Tarkan has gained international recognition beyond his parents' native Turkey. He is popular in Eastern European countries like Romania and Bulgaria, and in Russia, where he has performed extensively. In 2006 He gave his first Middle Eastern concert in Dubai in front of 9,000 people. He is also known in Israel, Greece, the UK and the USA, mainly among the Turkish Diaspora. His popularity in the UK, although Tarkan has never charted there, is also evident from the success of his Wembley Arena concert, given in London, on 13th April, 2008.

While his song "Simarik" has been sampled by various artists in these countries, the lucrative film industry in India has also poached several Tarkan hits, including "Sikidim", "Kuzu Kuzu" and "Dudu", for various Bollywood films.