FEATURE:
Spotlight
and play London’s OVO Arena Wembley on Friday (16th October), I wanted to spotlight the Turkish six-piece group, manifest. They consist of Esin Bahat, Hilal Yelekçi, Lidya Pınar, Mina Solak, Sueda Uluca, and Zeynep Sude Oktay. Their extraordinary debut, manifestival, was released last year. They have also been filmed for an upcoming Netflix documentary, though I am not sure whether it is a documentary about them or Turkish music. However, it is very clear that this incredible group are primed for global domination. I do want to come to some recent interviews with manifest. So we can learn more about them. Ahead of their first-ever U.K. show, this is a perfect time to connect with manifest. Official Charts spoke with a group who count Spice Girls and Little Mix among their influences. Prior to a six-part Netflix documentary, they are building a fanbase around the world. We do not really discuss the music coming out of Turkey. Still a lot of focus on the U.K. and U.S. Here are a group who I feel will play a lot more U.K. shows:
“Say hello to Esin Bahat, Hilal Yelekçi, Lidya Pınar, Mina Solak, Sueda Uluca and Zeynep Sude Oktay, who formed through Türkiye's Big5 talent competition in February 2025. Less than two years later, they're preparing for their first UK headline show at London's OVO Arena Wembley on October 16. Not bad going, eh?
And they're not arriving empty-handed.
Their brand-new single TRALALA marks manifest's first English-language release, mixing glossy pop with elements of traditional Turkish music. The accompanying video sees the girls take over the streets of East London, complete with choreography, Turkish coffee and evil eye charms.
Back home, manifest have already released their debut album Manifestival, launched their very own festival of the same name and built a devoted fanbase affectionately known as Manifam.
Counting the Spice Girls and Little Mix among their biggest inspirations, the six-piece are putting their own stamp on the concept of the girl group, with friendship, individuality and their Turkish roots at the heart of it all.
And with a six-part Netflix documentary in the works, something tells us we'll be hearing plenty more from them.
Why do you think TRALALA is the right song to introduce yourselves to the UK?
Since TRALALA is our first English-language single, the response we’ve received has been incredibly exciting for us. Seeing people connect with the song even before it was officially released has been such a special feeling.
Coming to London, releasing TRALALA and performing at Wembley all feel like the beginning of a new chapter for us.
Next stop, Wembley! What can Manifam expect from your first UK headline show?
Wembley is such a huge moment for us. Coming to London, releasing TRALALA and stepping onto the Wembley stage all feel like the beginning of a new chapter for us. We’re so excited to share this moment with Manifam and bring manifest’s energy to our first global arena show.
How does it feel to take your Turkish roots and culture to audiences around the world?
Of course, it’s a huge source of pride for us. When people watch us at our concerts in Turkey they would sometimes tell us how proud they are of us, we always knew that our international achievements would allow us to share that feeling with them too.
Now, as we share our music with audiences around the world, what matters to us is bringing elements of where we come from and our own culture together with the international pop world. Wherever we go, we want to carry the values and the culture we come from in Turkey with us”.
It would be too easy (and a bit lazy) to compare them to Spice Girls, as manifest are very much their own group and don’t seem as manufactured. However, as they love the British group, it is fair enough to mention them in the same breath. I did not know that they faced huge legal issues last year and might not have been allowed to leave Turkey again. Rolling Stone UK caught up with manifest recently and found them in excitable mood. The forthcoming U.K. show will be a huge event. If you have not heard their music then I can thoroughly recommend them:
“In a way, Manifest are carrying out a sort of belated cultural change with Baby, Ginger, Posh, Scary and Sporty. In October 1997, the Spice Girls played their first-ever live show in Istanbul. Now, some 29 years later, Manifest are preparing for one of their first concerts outside of Turkey at Wembley Arena on October 16. British pop fans may not know Manifest yet, but London’s Turkish population probably do, so booking this 12,500-cap venue is less risky than it seems. Still, as a statement of intent, it’s pretty unimpeachable. Turkey’s biggest pop group are signalling that they want to break the UK next. In fact, they’ve decamped here for the best part of the month while they’re being filmed for an upcoming Netflix documentary. “We want to show the UK what a Turkish girlband can do,” band member Lidya says with calm conviction as Tower Bridge gets smaller behind her.
Their impressive rise was briefly jeopardised in September 2025 when Turkey’s public prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into the group for alleged “exhibitionism” and “indecent and immoral acts” following a concert in Istanbul. Manifest subsequently cancelled a national tour and the band members were given suspended prison sentences that prevented them from leaving the country, though the travel ban has since been lifted. Manifest aren’t the only female pop act to have been targeted by Turkish authorities – singer-songwriter Gulsen was arrested in 2023 after making a joke about the country’s religious school system – and the tang of moral panic hasn’t halted their long-term momentum. The sextet’s recent single ‘Hileli’, an anthemic collaboration with legendary pop diva Ajda Pekkan, was Turkey’s most-streamed song of the summer on Spotify. Another Manifest banger, the rambunctious robo-R&B gem ‘Toz Pembe’, which was co-written by band members Esin, Lidya, Mina and Zeynep, was the third most-streamed.
A few hours before their jubilant Manifestival gig, we meet the band at their hotel nearby. It’s their first-ever press interview in English – a language not every member speaks confidently – but Manifest’s collective determination outshines any individual nerves. “There are six people in our group – six different women, six different perspectives,” Lydia says. “That is like our [super] power because we are all really different from each other. And it helps us to command any particular moment.” Next question: What makes a track perfect for Manifest, and not one they pass to another artist? “We always want to hear our [individual] voices, and the song has to be really powerful and sassy,” Esin replies. “And it always has to show that real girl power”.
I will end with CLASH and their interview. I am very new to manifest, but you just know they are very special and primed for great things. Even though most of their songs are in Turkish and they are not native English speakers, their music has been adopted and taken to heart around the world. They are rightfully very proud of their heritage and nation. It will help bring attention to the music being made in Turkey:
“Welcome to London, and congratulations on your Netflix documentary! You’ve had such an incredible year, and I imagine it must be a little crazy considering you only debuted as a group last year. How does this moment feel for you?
Esin Bahat: We’ve done so much in only one year and a half, it has been an amazing experience for us.
Lidya Pınar: Everything happened so quickly, we had to adapt to a new routine and fame, and it has been really exciting.
Sueda Uluca: We’re living our manifest age!
You have been in London for a long time and I’m curious to know your impressions of the city. What are your favourite activities and places here?
All of them: Soho!
Esin: We went to some musicals as well, like Moulin Rouge.
Sueda: Also Hamilton and we’re seeing The Phantom of the Opera.
Lidya: We went to Notting Hill too.
Mina Solak: I like the museums, they are so huge, like the British Museum.
Zeynep Oktay: I love the architecture of the city.
You bring so much of your identity and so much of Turkish culture into your music. This is amazing and beautiful to see.
Zeynep: We want to reach a global audience, but we want to do that carrying our culture with us.
Lidya: We’re Turkish and we’re really proud of it.
Zeynep: We want to show the world what Turkish female artists are capable of doing.
And what advice would you give to groups that also dream of going global carrying their identities?
Esin: I think the secret is being yourself and trusting each other. Be proud of yourself!
Lidya: Never forget your roots
Sueda: Enjoy every moment”.
This is a brief love note to manifest. Even though I have merely selected a few interviews published recently, I did want to share their music and name. People may not have heard of them or heard them in passing. TRALALA was released last week and it is an amazing song. I wonder if it will form part of a future album or E.P. It may be reductive to call them a girl group, but I think there is this new wave of female groups that you can connect to girl groups of the past. Though they each have their own sound. Whereas girl groups of the past were based in the U.S. and U.K. largely, now there is this more varied and international sound. From Turkey to South Korea to Japan and the U.K., it is a very prosperous and exciting time. The brilliant manifest are adding something wonderful and unique to the mix. Make sure that you follow…
THIS wonderful six-piece.
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