LOS ANGELES - The daughter of legendary Kurdish singer Ahmet Kaya says allegation that British singer Adele has plagiarized from her late father are being investigated, and that her family is not ready to make any accusations.
The Kurdish singer’s name appeared in the international media recently, when his fans accused Adele of plagiarising his song. Kaya’s 1985 hit "Acilara Tutunmak," which means “clinging to pain,” is believed to have astounding similarities with “A Million Year Ago” of Adele’s third album, “25.”
“We heard about the incident indeed,” Ahmet Kaya’s daughter, Melis Kaya, told Rudaw.
“There is a harmonic similarity between two songs, yet we left it to the music experts and lawyers. Also, we contacted our edition company in London. We believe that fans are somehow being a bit too excited about it though; it's not fair to accuse someone with something which is uncertain,” she said.
She added that the deceased singer’s recording companies in London and Istanbul are investigating the matter, but the family refuses to make any accusations just yet.
(Melis Kaya)
The international pop singer of the UK’s biggest-selling number one album of all time, Adele was once before accused of plagiarism in October, when Tom Waits’ fans pointed out similarities between Adele’s “Hello” and Waits’ “Martha.”
If the latest allegations about plagiarising from Kaya prove to be accurate, the pop singer may end up in a court.
Outraged fans of Kaya stormed Twitter with accusations of plagiarism.
Ahmet Kaya, who was a cab driver before the world discovered his astonishing talent for music, bravely stood up for Kurds in the 90s era in Turkey, when anti-Kurdish sentiments there were at a peak.
"Because I have Kurdish roots, my next song will be in Kurdish. And the video will be in Kurdish. I know there are brave people who will broadcast it," Kaya said in Istanbul in 1999.
Because of his speech, he received cruel messages and even death threats. At the time, the singer was among the very few voices who protested to the extreme oppression against Kurds in Turkey.
After the Turkish state and media attacked him for his comments and accused him of having sung before the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), he fled to Paris. A year later, he was sentenced by the Turkish government in absentia.
When in November 2000 the controversial singer died of a heart attack, his music was still banned in Turkey.
Years after his death Turkey finally removed the ban on Kaya's music and the singer Serdar Ortac, who had taken part in the backlash against Kaya, officially apologized.
Kaya is buried in the famous Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.
