Inji (singer)

Inci Gürün (born January 2, 2001), better known by her stage name Inji (stylized in all caps), is a Turkish singer-songwriter currently based in Philadelphia. She rose to prominence with her singles "Gaslight" and "Madeline", both of which went viral on TikTok in 2022. Her debut EP LFG was released on July 21, 2023.

Early life
Inci was born on January 2, 2001, in Istanbul, Turkey. Her paternal grandfather, Orhan, founded the tugboat shipyard Sanmar Denizcilik, which is currently chaired by Inci's father, Ali. Both men are guitarists, with Orhan working alongside Seyyal Taner. Having loved music from a very young age she enrolled in the Istanbul University State Conservatory in 2008 and studied music theory and classical piano. Throughout the next ten years she would compete in several piano competitions across Europe, and after moving to London to attend high school, she started singing in jazz groups and choirs. This continued into her time at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where she formed a jazz group and performed on the campus.

2022: First singles and TikTok success
Gürün's first single, "Gaslight", was produced alongside fellow Penn student Alex Graf, who had previously been a guitarist in her jazz project. The song was made "basically [...] in a week" using only resources available at the Penn campus. A demo of the song posted to TikTok went viral and propelled Gürün's popularity to reach some of the most popular creators on the website, including Charli D'Amelio and Bella Poarch. The song reached over 300,000 streams on Spotify in under two weeks.

The follow-up single, "Madeline", received similar success, which was further pushed by—among several—Gürün's appearance on Tidal's Rising Artist and airplay on BBC's Radio 1. Notably, the singer also appeared on Samsung's miniseries Make It With Nile Rodgers, hosted by Nile Rodgers.

2023: "The One" and debut EP
Gürün's first release of the year, "The One", continued the singer's viral stardom. The song, described by Inji as "the new single girl anthem", was later remixed by Marc Kinchen and Lee Foss. "The One" is featured in EFootball '24.

LFG, Inji's first EP, was released via Astralwerks on July 21, 2023.

Influences
Gürün mentions jazz and blues musicians as a major factor in her style of songwriting, pointing to them being "so creative in the span of such a small space". The singer refers to Amy Winehouse as "her favorite artist in terms of storytelling". She is very open to experimentation in her music, saying "I'm not gonna say no to anything—you know, hyperpop, bring it on!" as a reply to her audience anticipating a hyperpop song.