Last month saw rising singer-songwriter TANSU release “DOWNTOWN,” the first music she has revealed from her collaboration with Dave Rublin (American Authors).  Now TANSU shares another glimpse of what they have been working on by way of “Got 2 Me.”  The song is a simmering ballad on which TANSU allows her resplendent, powerhouse voice to shine at its fullest potential –  it’s a showstopping piece of soul-pop.  “‘Got 2 Me’ is a very vulnerable song about trusting someone to love you the right way,” TANSU says.  “After falling in love the wrong way, it’s all the more difficult to fall in love again, correctly. This song is about that path.” 

TANSU, a name inspired by the Turkish term for the sun’s radiant touch on ocean waters just before sunrise, has a diverse cultural background, with roots in Turkey and Ireland. Although she spent her formative years in London and Connecticut, she’s called New York City home for the past 13 years, with a brief stint in Boston for college. Growing up,  TANSU always felt connected to soul music, even as a child: legend has it that, as a baby, she refused to eat her dinner unless Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” was playing. Some of her earliest memories involve Whitney: she remembers waking up every morning, playing with her Barbie dolls, and listening to the Waiting To Exhale soundtrack on repeat, entranced by The Voice emanating from her speakers. Throughout TANSU’s youth, the pop stars of the day were like gods: she worshiped at the altar of Mariah and the Spice Girls, artists who combined vocal chops and platinum-plated charisma with a gonzo attitude and fierce commitment to their art. 

Photo Courtesy: Shervin Lainez