31.10.2026 13:50
Artist Bora Duran, who reached a wide audience with his songs and unique interpretation, was a guest of Haberler.com host Melis Yaşar. Telling the unknown aspects of his music career, Duran shared his happiness that his 2021 song "Döndüm" received great attention again years later. The famous artist made striking statements on many topics, from his childhood to his struggle in the music industry, and from his private life to the stories behind the creation of his songs.
Bora Duran, who was a guest of Melis Yaşar on Haberler.com, emphasized that the success of his song “I Returned”, which became popular again years later, was not a coincidence. Duran, who talked about the difficulties he experienced in his music career, the periods when he suffered from severe depression, and the days when he thought about quitting music, explained that his father did not want him to become a musician and that he began to become known with the song he gave to Mahsun Kırmızıgül.
“THE TIME FOR THE SONG ‘I RETURNED’ HAS COME NOW”
Speaking about the song “I Returned”, released in 2021, becoming popular again years later, Bora Duran said that behind this success was effort based on many years.
When asked why the song attracted so much attention years later, Duran replied, “I think its time had come.”
Comparing the music industry to the stock market, the artist noted that a work may not achieve success the moment it is released, and said the following:
“The things you make don’t have to blow up the moment they come out. The song blew up again like this years later, but you can’t just call it a coincidence or luck and move on. There are years of effort here.”
Emphasizing that “I Returned” holds an important place in his career, the artist stated that the song was one of his works that achieved the greatest rise after “Towards You”.
“THIS IS MY SEVENTH SONG TO BLOW UP IN THIS WAY”
Stating that his success cannot be explained solely by the influence of social media, Bora Duran recalled the struggle he waged throughout his music life.
“I came in 2002, my first album came out in 2010. The year is 2026. From that day to this, I have been working without stopping, putting in effort, reading, writing, drawing,” said the artist, adding that “I Returned” was his seventh song to achieve success in a similar way.
Duran used the words, “This cannot be a coincidence. We had committed ourselves to this path. Work, determination, belief. I think everything comes together like this.”
“I DID NOT WRITE ‘I RETURNED’ TO RETURN TO SOMEONE”
Answering Melis Yaşar’s question, “Did you write this song for someone you returned to, or for someone you wanted to return to but could not?”, Duran explained that, contrary to what is believed, the song does not tell only a love story.
The famous artist stated that the song carries traces of the difficulties he experienced in his own life, the struggle he waged, and his journey into his inner world.
“This is actually a matter of turning inward. It is a love song, of course, but at the same time it is a return to a person’s own existence and being within themselves,” said Duran, adding that he did not write the song to return to a specific person.
Duran explained the meaning the song holds for him with the words, “Whatever I want to return to, I want to return to my own inner self. Perhaps I may have expressed that I returned to my own inner self.”
“I THOUGHT ABOUT ENDING MY CAREER”
Bora Duran, describing one of the biggest disappointments he experienced in his music life as the period when the song “Towards You” first came out, admitted that in those days he even thought about quitting music.
Stating that while preparing the song he believed it would achieve great success, Duran said, “I released the song; six months, seven months, eight months passed. Nothing happened. I thought about ending my career. Because I had said that if this song doesn’t work either, then I know nothing.”
However, the artist noted that the song later became popular on social media, drawing attention to the fact that success does not always come at the expected time.
“I EXPERIENCED VERY SEVERE DEPRESSION”
Bora Duran, who said he came to Istanbul in 2002 after his conservatory education in Izmir, said that he waited eight years to release his first album.
The artist, who appeared before listeners with the album “Every Morning” in 2010, described how in his first years in Istanbul he faced both financial hardship and the struggle to establish a place for himself in the music world.
“I wanted it very much, I put in a lot of effort, I worked a lot. I shed bloody tears, I experienced severe depression. Believe me, it was not easy,” said Duran, stating that while trying to pay his rent and bills on one hand, he continued composing and producing music on the other.
“MY FATHER DID NOT WANT ME TO BE A MUSICIAN”
Bora Duran, who also made statements about his childhood years, said that although his family was immersed in music, his father did not want him to be a musician.
Describing his father as having an authoritarian nature, the artist said, “I grew up somewhat troubled within the family. My father was too authoritarian; he did not want me to become a musician. I was somewhat unhappy in that period.”
Duran stated that in his youth he wanted to build his own life, and expressed that his university education was a period of liberation for him.
“I BECAME KNOWN WITH THE SONG I GAVE TO MAHSUN KIRMIZIGÜL”
Also touching on the early periods of his career, Bora Duran explained that the song “Gül Senin Tenin”, performed by Mahsun Kırmızıgül, was an important turning point in his own musical journey.
Duran, stating that he first prepared the song for his own album, said that Yıldıray Gürgen, with whom he worked at that time, suggested giving the work to Mahsun Kırmızıgül.
The artist, who stated that initially he wanted to perform the song himself, noted that after the work achieved great success, he also performed his own version in 2011.
Duran expressed that this song played an important role in making him known to broad audiences in Turkey.