"Şımarık" (, "Spoiled"), also known as "Kiss Kiss", is a 1997 song by Turkish singer Tarkan. It was written by Sezen Aksu, with music credited as composed by Tarkan. However, Tarkan later admitted in a 2006 interview that this had been done without Aksu's consent, who was the true copyright owner. It formed part of Tarkan's third album, Ölürüm Sana (1997). "Şımarık" was released in France in 1998 and across the rest of the world in 1999 from the compilation album Tarkan, which was released in Europe. Many versions of the song were recorded in different languages, most notably the English-language cover, titled "Kiss Kiss", by Greek-American singer Stella Soleil in 2001, which was itself covered by Australian actress Holly Valance in 2002.

The song

As Tarkan's first major single, the song is generally considered his debut single. He had released three albums before this, but never released a song in single format due to the album-orientated nature of the Turkish music industry. The song has also appeared in soundtracks of various movies, including French film Beau travail and the American film XX/XY. It is generally considered Tarkan's signature song in Europe. Its chorus ends with two characteristic kiss sounds.

Commercial performance

When the single was released in Europe, it reached No. 1 in Belgium, No. 2 in Norway, plus No. 3 in Switzerland, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Sales went gold in Europe, where Tarkan was presented with his gold disc at Cannes Midem and in Germany by Universal.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Şımarık" is directed by Emmanuel Saada and shot in Marseille, France, in a neighborhood called "Le panier", with narrow streets and cobbled roads. Here, Tarkan sings and jaywalks. Several women on the streets sees him and starts chasing him to try to kiss him, but he tries to avoid them by first changing direction and then later by walking faster. More and more women begin to chase him as the song proceeds, but Tarkan eventually starts running in order to avoid them. A big group of women then run after him and as the song finishes, Tarkan takes cover in a street corner. A young girl is there as well and Tarkan kisses her forehead. The video was the first that Saada directed.

Track listings

Track lists to this CD single change depending on the country of release. There were four promotional LP versions released. A promotional CD single was released in France, with an orange cover. This was the first ever release and included one track. This is now a collector's item. There was also a limited edition (fan-edition) single released in Germany, which came with a poster of Tarkan.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Stella Soleil version

"Kiss Kiss" served as the debut single of American recording artist Stella Soleil. It is a remake of "Şımarık" with new lyrics. The English version was credited to by Juliette Jaimes, Sezen Aksu, Tarkan, and Steve Welton-Jaimes. The single was released to American radio on 19 and 20 March 2001. It was also released in regions of Europe, excluding the UK.

Music video

The music video is set on the beach during the late night. The video (directed by Hype Williams) shows Soleil dancing on the sand, while scenes go back and forth from birds eye views of landscape around the beach.

Charts

Holly Valance version

Australian actress Holly Valance covered "Kiss Kiss" and released it as her debut single on 29 April 2002. Her version topped the charts of both Australia and the United Kingdom.

Commercial performance

The single debuted at number one in the United Kingdom on 5 May 2002, selling 143,408 copies in its first week. The song made its debut on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart and UK Singles Chart at number one. It went on to spend nine weeks in the ARIA top 10, 13 weeks in the top 20, and seventeen weeks in the top 50. In Finland, Hungary, Ireland, and Italy, the song peaked within the top 10. It also reached the top 20 in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Sweden, New Zealand, and Switzerland. It was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Music video

The official music video for Valance's version features a compilation of Valance herself with a variety of different looks and sexualised outfits whilst performing the song. The video opens with a close-up of Valance's lips, painted with a burnished red gloss, as she mimes a kiss at the viewer. Lightbulbs flash and pulse on a black background, gradually illuminating Valance's apparently-naked figure, save for two bars of light across her chest and hips. Valance is next shown within a second black room, this time surrounded by blue rectangular strips of light. During the video, these lights change to red before returning to their original color. As Valance begins to sing, the view returns to the opening close-up scene, before cutting to show her sat within and surrounded by a black velvet structure. The room is illuminated further by a mosaic background pattern of flashing white lights. Between shots, two DJs are seen using a record table. During the chorus, the scene shifts to show Valance with six male backing dancers on a black and gold backdrop. The video switches between each of these settings throughout the video.

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Other cover versions

Aside from "Kiss Kiss", there were many other covers of "Şımarık" in English and various languages, like a version sung by Hong Kong group E02 in Cantonese and an Egyptian cover version sung by Samy Mansour. Notable covers include:

Samplings and adaptations

Dj R'AN version

An alternative release of the DJ R'AN version of "Kiss Kiss" was done in 2017 by Kosovar-German singer Ardian Bujupi with Dj R'AN featuring Mohombi and Big Ali. Other samplings

Usage in media

"Şımarık" was featured in films and soap opera including Beau travail, Romané and XX/XY. "Şımarık" and sound effects of Tarkan's kiss sounds was used in several Chilean television programs, including: Calle 7, Yingo, En portada, Buenos Días a Todos, Muy buenos días, Mucho gusto, Gente como tú, La mañana de Chilevisión, and others. "Şımarık" was used as the intro music for the Norwegian TV series about multi-cultural Norway, Migrapolis. It was also used as the intro music for an Israeli TV current affairs news show named London et Kirschenbaum. In the United Kingdom, Channel 4 used the song in trailers for Graham Norton's chat show So Graham Norton in 2001.