Zak Abel | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Zak David Zilesnick |
| Also known as | Zak Abel[citation needed] |
| Born | (1995-03-01)1 March 1995 (age 30) |
| Origin | London, England, UK |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Labels | Atlantic |
Zak David Zilesnick (born(1995-03-01)1 March 1995), better known professionaly asZak Abel, is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He has also been an English Cadet national table tennis champion. He's known for several songs, such as "Be Kind", "Unstable", "Say Sumthin", and "Freedom" (as afeatured artist withKygo), among others.[2]
His father, who had been born inMorocco andimmigrated to Israel, died when Zilesnick was 12 years old.[3] Zilesnick isJewish.[4] He grew up inHendon with his mother Rachel, and attended the Jewish state school Matilda Marks, andUniversity College School, from which he graduated in 2013.[5][3] He later moved toHackney.[3]
He is a vegan.[6]
Having been suffering fromhearing loss, he was diagnosed withotosclerosis aged 21 and underwent surgery on his right ear.[7] This restored most of the volume but affects his ability to hearpitch and so he had to relearn it.[8] He also has hearing loss in his left ear and wears a hearing aid.[8]
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Zilesnick won a competition to sing atIsrael'sYom Haatzmaut celebration inWembley Stadium when he was in primary school.[3]
He is most notable for his featured appearance on the UK top 20 hit "Unmissable" withGorgon City. He has also released two extended plays, entitledJoker presents Zak Abel andOne Hand on the Future.
In 2016, he worked with producers such asKaytranada andWookie on his debut album,Only When We're Naked, which was released on 6 October 2017,[9] and debuted at number 100 on theUK Albums Chart.[10] He was signed byAtlantic Records.[11]
On 7 May 2023, he replacedFreya Ridings in theCoronation Concert atWindsor Castle.[12]
He was ranked No. 1 in the Cadet age group in England and was 2009 Cadet Boys' Singles national champion at the age of 14; he was also ranked No. 5 for under 18s in England.[13][11] Between 2008 and 2010 he won the Under 15 national singles and Under 18 doubles titles.[13] In 2010, he was ranked number 39 in the senior category.[13]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [14] | ||||
| Only When We're Naked | 100 | |||
| Love Over Fear |
| — | ||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Joker presents Zak Abel |
|
| One Hand on the Future |
|
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "These Are the Days" | 2014 | Joker presents Zak Abel |
| "Wise Enough" (with Joker) | 2015 | |
| "Say Sumthin" | One Hand on the Future | |
| "Everybody Needs Love" | 2016 | Non-album single |
| "Unstable" | 2017 | Only When We're Naked |
| "Rock Bottom" (featuringWretch 32) | ||
| "All I Ever Do (Is Say Goodbye)" | ||
| "Only When We're Naked" | ||
| "The River" | ||
| "Love Song" | 2018 | Non-album singles |
| "You Come First" (featuringSaweetie) | ||
| "The Power" (withDuke Dumont) | 2019 | Duality |
| "Sad in Scandinavia"[17] (withSeeb) | 2020 | Sad in Scandinavia |
| "Be Kind"[18] | 2021 | Non-album singles |
| "Right Side of the Bed"[19] | ||
| "Why Can't We Get Along"[20] | ||
| "Less of a Man"[21] | ||
| "Good Times"[22] (withSheku Kanneh-Mason) | 2022 | |
| "What Love Is"[23] | 2023 | Love Over Fear |
| "Dance with You (The Comeback)"[24] | ||
| "Woman" | ||
| "How Do We Stay in Love?" | ||
| "Home"[25] | 2025 |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [14] | UK Dance [26] | GER [27] | SCO [28] | SWI [29] | ||||||||||
| "Higher" (Wookie featuring Zak Abel) | 2014 | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |||||||
| "Unmissable" (Gorgon City featuring Zak Abel) | 19 | 5 | — | 16 | — | Sirens | ||||||||
| "Make You Love Me" (Jarreau Vandal featuring Zak Abel) | 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |||||||
| "Bad"[30] (Don Diablo featuring Zak Abel) | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | Forever | |||||||
| "Freedom"[31] (Kygo featuring Zak Abel) | 77 | — | 90 | — | 25 | Golden Hour | ||||||||
| "For Life" (Kygo featuring Zak Abel andNile Rodgers) | 2024 | 75 | 29 | — | — | 75 | Kygo | |||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
| Title | Year | Album | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Ten More Days" | 2015 | Stories | Avicii |
| "Beautiful Escape" | Beat Tape 2 | Tom Misch | |
| "Drink to You" | 2018 | Blue | Jonas Blue |
| "Gotta Get Thru This" | 2019 | Garage Classical | DJ Spoony with Katie Chatburn and The Ignition Orchestra |
| Title | Year | Artist(s) | Album | Written with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "I'll Be Gentle" (withJohn Legend) | 2017 | Paloma Faith | The Architect | Paloma Faith,Thomas Barnes,Peter Kelleher,Benjamin Kohn |
| "Somebody" (withHRVY &Nina Nesbitt) | 2018 | Sigala | Brighter Days | Bruce Fielder, Sky Adams, Daniel Shah, Lawrie Martin-Prime, Justus Nzeribe |
Abel's sound memorably combines soulful R&B and pop.
His most notable collaboration is with artist Kygo, in which he wrote and featured on the track "Freedom" which amassed over 79 million streams onSpotify. His newest track "Be Kind" itself is an upbeat song with an extremely memorable melody and a striking sense of optimism in its sound.
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| National | |
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