Carpe Diem is the fourteenth studio album by Turkish singer Hande Yener. The first part, Carpe Diem Part I, which contains 10 songs in total, was released on 2 October 2020 by Poll Production. Eight of the songs in the album were written and arranged by Berksan and Misha, while one was prepared by Fikri Karayel and Deeperise, and another by Mete Özgencil and Devrim Karaoğlu. Carpe Diem is a pop and electronic album that also has elements of synth-pop, funky house, deep house and R&B. Unlike Yener's previous works, the eight songs prepared by Berksan were first composed and lyrics were later put on them. Yener explained that she named the album based on the philosophy of "living at the moment, knowing the value of the moment" and then a song with the same name was written and included in the tracking list. The album was set to be released in April 2020 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the release date was postponed. It eventually became available in October 2020.

The album received positive feedback from music critics who praised Yener's ability in "renewing herself" and added that the work "surpasses the current typical pop sound". In the first week following its release, Carpe Diem ranked first on D&R's list of best-selling albums and topped the iTunes Turkey chart. The album's first music video was directed by Aytekin Yalçın for the song "Carpe Diem" and released on the same day as the album. The second music video, also directed by Yalçın, was made for the track "Aşk Sandım".

Background Between 2016 and 2017, Yener produced and released the Hepsi Hit album, which was divided into two volumes (Vol 1. and Vol 2.), and released over the course of two years. After Hepsi Hit Vol 2., she released the single "Beni Sev" in 2018. Meanwhile, she was featured as a guest artist on the tribute albums Yıldız Tilbe'nin Yıldızlı Şarkıları and Alakasız Şarkılar, Vol. 2. Yener also released two English singles, titled "Love Always Wins" and "Gravity" respectively. Additionally, she began preparations for an album to mark the 20th year of her career, and in 2019 released the electronic pop single "Aşk Tohumu", as well as the songs "Krema" and "Kuş".

Yener announced in 2019 that she was preparing an album to celebrate the 20th year of her career. She added that the album would be "innovative pop, far from the standard 130 BPM tempo". She later announced that the new album would be titled Carpe Diem, to emphasize "living in the moment, knowing the value of the moment". It was later made known that artists such as Berksan, Devrim Karaoğlu, Mete Özgencil, Mabel Matiz, Fikri Karayel, Deeperise and Misha would collaborate with her on preparing the album. Yener later added that the new album would be an "upgraded" version of her 2006 electronic pop album Apayrı.

Development and recording

After the album was released, Yener explained the development process of the album in an interview with Radio Başakşehir on 2 October 2020. She stated that they stayed in the studio with Misha and Berksan before and during the pandemic, and recorded the songs in her home studio as soon as they were written, and that she did not want to use too many effects on her vocals. With ten songs ready in hand, she decided to postpone the release of the album. She said that as the pandemic lasted longer than expected, she added five more songs to the album and named the album as "Carpe Diem" and that a song with the same name was written on Berksan's suggestion. She added that Aytekin Yalçın shot the preview videos, which she shared on social media to promote the album, and full music videos were also recorded for a number of tracks. In the interview she gave on Kafa Radio the same day, she explained the production process of the album as follows:

For the twentieth year of her music career, she said she thought "ten songs wouldn't be enough, she should have done twenty". She added that she was constantly updating her repertoire after the decision to postpone the album, and in the meantime released the track "Bela" as a single in July. She mentioned she thought the second part of the album would be released after the audience had formed a bond with Carpe Diem Part I. She also stated that the second part is still in the process of being developed and that she can add or remove a new song or try a different style at any time. In an interview with Aleyna Horasan on Radio Mega on 7 October 2020, she talked about the album production process. She said that she met Misha through Deeperise's long collaborator Jabbar, so she listened and chose some of his compositions and infrastructures. Deeperise and Fikri Karayel wrote and composed the song "Aşk Elinde", giving it to Yener who later decided to include it in the album. Yener also added that the track "Boşuna" was recorded together with her single "Beni Sev" in 2018, but she had set it aside to be included in her future album.

Yener stated that besides preparing this album entirely in a home studio, she sang each song once during the album recording, and did not use too many effects on the vocals as the original compositions and sounds were sufficient. She also mentioned that for Part II there would be songs written by herself in the tracking list.

Title and cover Carpe diem, which means "make the day, enjoy the day, seize the day, live the moment or live the day" in Latin, became Yener's "motto" in this album and the album's title was eventually announced as Carpe Diem. She said she chose this name because it emphasized on "living in the moment, knowing the value of the moment". In an interview with Hürriyet she talked about the album and her choice of name: After naming the album as Carpe Diem, she said that it was Berksan who insisted on including a track with the same name in the album, and it was him who eventually wrote the track.

She released the album cover on social media on 11 September 2020. Yener, sitting on a chair in front of a white wall, posed for the cover wearing a one-piece black leather outfit and a black Sombrero-style hat, black high-heeled shoes and braided hair stretching to the floor. The album styling and the style on the cover photo were entrusted to Italian designer Gabriele Papi. Aytekin Yalçın took the album photos and cover photo. Regarding the album photos and cover style, Yener said: "My director Aytekin Yalçın was aware of all the developments of the album. I was sending him every new piece we made. Aytekin was sending me drawings and ideas from Italy with stylist Gabriele Papi. Those drawings increased my excitement a lot. Because it was so suited to the energy of the album. The shootings were completed very smoothly, just like the album recordings. We knew very well what we wanted and didn't want. We shot in Milan, Istanbul and Marmaris bays."

Carpe Diems cover photo was censored on Iranian music platforms upon its release on 9 October. The album was put up for sale with an image that completely erased Yener in the cover photo and left it blank.

Music and lyrics Carpe Diem is a pop and electronic album with elements of synth-pop, funky house, deep house and R&B. The album's first track, "Aşk Sandım", features synth-pop and rock elements. The second track, "Bulut", which has "the 80's synthwave and retro tune" has a prodominant guitar sound in its infrastructure. The third track, "Senden Çok", is a synth-pop themed song with a repeating bass line. "Aşk Elinde", written and composed by Fikri Karayel and Deeperise is a dance sing. The fifth track, "Başka Dudaklar", is a Garage house-themed song with more dynamic electronic sounds. The sixth track, "Boşuna", is one of the two tracks not written by Berksan. Written by Mete Özgencil, it is a ballad song. The title track of the album as well as its lead single, "Carpe Diem", also known as "Anı Yaşa", is a track with a medium rhythm. The eighth track, "Melekler ve Şeytanlar", is a high tempo electro-pop song. The critically acclaimed ninth mid-tempo track, "Kaç", was defined by critics as "the combination of all the styles that Yener has tried in her music career". The closing track, "Yolcu", has a trap-pop style.

Release The album's first promotional single, "Pencere", was released with its music video on 28 March 2020. The song entered national music charts and was also appreciated by the critics for "reflecting on the current social events". A second single, titled "Bela", was released on 3 July 2020. The song ranked second on the official Turkish music chart.

On 12 September 2020, the album's over photo and release date were shared on social media. It was announced that the album would have ten songs and would be released on 2 October 2020. The title of various songs from the album were announced in the subsequent days, including "Aşk Sandım", "Senden Çok", "Carpe Diem", "Kaç", "Aşk Elinde" and "Boşuna". The whole track listing was announced on 14 September 2020 on Instagram. Yener also announced a second album, containing ten more songs, would be released in the near future. On 29 September, Yener shared pictures of the album's package on Instagram. The album was divided into two parts, with Carpe Diem Part I being released in early October 2020. On 2 October 2020, Carpe Diem was made available on streaming platforms and its physical copies were sold in stores across Turkey. The singles "Pencere" and "Bela" were not included in this portion of the album. Carpe Diem was initially set to be released in April but the date was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In her interview with the Posta newspaper, she stated that her plan was to release the album in 2020: "I always listen to the voice of my heart. My core listeners were waiting for my 20th year album. So even if the world burned, I would release this album."

Regarding when Carpe Diem Part II would be released, Yener said "I think it should come out at a surprising time. It may not be right to give a date. I'm guessing 2021, but I can surprise you. Let everyone get confused. Let me increase the excitement a little bit."

Critical reception