Turkish Cypriot wins Turkey’s version of The Voice

Prominent figures in the north have congratulated Turkish Cypriot singer Lutfiye Ozipek for winning the singing competition The Voice, Turkey or O Ses Turkiye.

Ozipek, on Sunday, became the first female winner of the competition since it started in 2012, beating scores of hopefuls in a several month-long process. She was chosen as the winner by the public who voted by sending text messages.

“I want to thank my country Cyprus and everyone that supported me from my beautiful island. I thank those in every corner of Turkey who rooted for me, who gave me their love and congratulated me,” she said through Facebook.

Ozipek was congratulated by ‘prime minister’ in the north Tufan Erhurman, who wished her every success through his post on Facebook.

‘Minister of foreign affairs’ Kudret Ozersay and ‘finance minister’ Serdar Denktash also took to Facebook with the latter saying “Cyprus was proud, Turkey was left awestruck.”

Ozipek was born in Cyprus in 1990 and went to school in Nicosia, playing the piano from a young age. She studied jazz at the University of Nicosia and also went to the UK for further education. She is currently working on releasing her solo album.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.