Though the song was originally recorded in 1996 with minimal impact, it was re-released in 1999 as the title track of Kekilli’s second album. The album sold approximately , making it the best-selling album of 1999 in Turkey. Its blend of Anatolian rock and emotional folk elements resonated deeply with a public still reeling from the devastating 1999 Marmara earthquake. The "Suicide Song" Controversy
Shortly after its peak popularity, rumors spread that the song was driving listeners to suicide. Media outlets at the time heavily covered stories of individuals who supposedly ended their lives while listening to the track. Murat Kekilli Bu AkЕџam
The song's legacy is inextricably linked to a series of moral panics in the late 1990s: Though the song was originally recorded in 1996