Zak Abel
Birth nameZak David Zilesnick
Born (1995-03-01) 1 March 1995 (age 28)
OriginLondon
Genres
Years active2014–present
LabelsAtlantic

Zak David Zilesnick (born 1 March 1995), better known as Zak Abel, is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He has also been an English Cadet national table tennis champion.

Early and personal life

His father, who had been born in Morocco and emigrated to Israel, died when Zilesnick was 12 years old.[2] Zilesnick is Jewish.[3] He grew up in Hendon with his mother Rachel, and attended the Jewish state school Matilda Marks, and University College School, from which he graduated in 2013.[4][2] He later moved to Hackney.[2]

Zilesnick is a vegan.[5]

Having been suffering from hearing loss, he was diagnosed with otosclerosis aged 21 and underwent surgery on his right ear.[6] This restored most of the volume but affects his ability to hear pitch and so he had to re-learn it.[7] He also has hearing loss in his left ear and wears a hearing aid.[7]

Musician

Zilesnick won a competition to sing at a Yom Haatzmaut celebration in Wembley Stadium when he was in primary school.[2]

He is most notable for his featured appearance on the UK top 20 hit "Unmissable" with Gorgon City. He has also released two extended plays, entitled Joker presents Zak Abel and One Hand on the Future.

In 2016, he worked with producers such as Kaytranada and Wookie on his debut album, Only When We're Naked, which was released on 6 October 2017,[8] and debuted at number 100 on the UK Albums Chart.[9] He was signed by Atlantic Records.[10]

On 7 May 2023, he replaced Freya Ridings in the Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle.[11]

Table tennis

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.[12][10] Between 2008 and 2010 he won the Under 15 national singles and Under 18 doubles titles.[12] In 2010, he was ranked number 39 in the senior category.[12]

Discography

Studio albums

Title Details Peak chart positions
UK
[13]
Only When We're Naked 100
Love Over Fear —

Extended plays

Title Details
Joker presents Zak Abel
  • Scheduled: 6 February 2015[14]
  • Label: Atlantic Records
  • Formats: DL
One Hand on the Future
  • Scheduled: 28 August 2015[15]
  • Label: Atlantic Records
  • Formats: DL

Singles

As lead artist
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"
(featuring Wretch 32)
"All I Ever Do (Is Say Goodbye)"
"Only When We're Naked"
"The River"
"Love Song" 2018 Non-album singles
"You Come First"
(featuring Saweetie)
"The Power"
(with Duke Dumont) 		2019 Duality
"Sad in Scandinavia"[16]
(with Seeb) 		2020 Sad in Scandinavia
"Be Kind"[17] 2021 Non-album singles
"Right Side of the Bed"[18]
"Why Can't We Get Along"[19]
"Less of a Man"[20]
"Good Times"[21]
(with Sheku Kanneh-Mason) 		2022
"What Love Is"[22] 2023 Love Over Fear
"Dance with You (The Comeback)"[23]
"Woman"
"How Do We Stay in Love?"
As featured artist
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
[13] 		UK Dance
[24] 		GER
[25] 		SCO
[26] 		SWI
[27]
"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"[28]
(Don Diablo featuring Zak Abel) 		2020 — — — — — Forever
"Freedom"[29]
(Kygo featuring Zak Abel) 		77 — 90 — 25 Golden Hour
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Other appearances

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

Songwriting credits

Title Year Artist(s) Album Written with
"I'll Be Gentle"
(with John Legend) 		2017 Paloma Faith The Architect Paloma Faith, Thomas Barnes, Peter Kelleher, Benjamin Kohn
"Somebody"
(with HRVY & Nina Nesbitt) 		2018 Sigala Brighter Days Bruce Fielder, Sky Adams, Daniel Shah, Lawrie Martin-Prime, Justus Nzeribe

References

  1. ^ Herenda, Devin (30 January 2022). "Interview: Zak Abel". songwritingmagazine.co.uk. Songwriting Magazine. Retrieved 3 September 2022. Abel's sound memorably combines soulful R&B and pop.
  2. ^ a b c d "Abel and willing to be a success". Thejc.com. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  3. ^ "Zak Abel". Retrieved 16 July 2023 – via PressReader.
  4. ^ "The Gower 2013". issuu.com. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  5. ^ "Zak Abel on Instagram: "...Happy #WorldVeganDay to everyone in the world. I've been vegan for just over a year now & it's one of the best decisions I ever made..."". Instagram.com. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  6. ^ Bray, Elisa (18 August 2023). "Meet the Jewish child table tennis ace who became a music icon". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Zak Abel talks Love Over Fear, major label turmoil, and coping with hearing loss". headlinermagazine.net. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Only When We're Naked by Zak Abel on Apple Music". iTunes Store (AU). Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  9. ^ "Zak Abel Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  10. ^ a b ""Zak Abel: From table tennis star to music sensation" — Table Tennis England". Tabeltennisengland.co.uk. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Freya Ridings pulls out of Coronation Concert". The Independent. 6 May 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  12. ^ a b c "The Maccabi Awards: In full". Thejc.com. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  13. ^ a b Peak positions in the United Kingdom:
  14. ^ "Joker Presents Zak Abel – EP by Zak Abel on Apple Music". iTunes Store (GB). Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  15. ^ "One Hand on the Future by Zak Abel on Apple Music". iTunes Store (GB). Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  16. ^ "Sad in Scandinavia - Single by Seeb & Zak Abel on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  17. ^ "Be Kind - Single by Zak Abel on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  18. ^ "Right Side Of The Bed - Single by Zak Abel on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  19. ^ "Why Can't We Get Along - Single by Zak Abel on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  20. ^ "Less Of A Man - Single by Zak Abel on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  21. ^ "Good Times - Single by Zak Abel & Sheku Kanneh-Mason on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  22. ^ "What Love Is - Single by Zak Abel on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  23. ^ "Dance with You (The Comeback) - Single by Zak Abel on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  24. ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40 | 05 October 2014 - 11 October 2014". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  25. ^ "Zak Abel". officialcharts.de (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  26. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 | 05 October 2014 - 11 October 2014". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  27. ^ "Discographie Zak Abel". swisscharts.com/. Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  28. ^ "Bad (feat. Zak Abel) - Single by Don Diablo on Apple Music". iTunes Store. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  29. ^ Stack, Chris (17 April 2020). "Kygo releases stunning melodic gem, 'Freedom', featuring Zak Abel". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.

External links

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