Zak Abel
Zak David Zilesnick (born 1 March 1995), better known as Zak Abel, is an Moroccan-English singer, songwriter and musician. He has also been an English Cadet national table tennis champion.
Zak Abel | |
---|---|
Birth name | Zak David Zilesnick |
Born | 1 March 1995 |
Origin | England, United Kingdom |
Genres | |
Years active | 2014–present |
Labels | Atlantic |
Associated acts |
|
Early and personal life
His father, who had been born in Morocco and emigrated to Israel, died when Zilesnick was 12 years old.[1] Zilesnick is Jewish.[2] 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.[3][1] He has moved to Hackney.[1]
Zilesnick is a vegan.[4]
Musician
Zilesnick won a competition to sing at a Yom Haatzmaut celebration in Wembley Stadium when he was in primary school.[1]
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,[5] and debuted at number 100 on the UK Albums Chart.[6] He was signed by Atlantic Records.[7]
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.[8][7] Between 2008 and 2010 he won the Under 15 national singles and Under 18 doubles titles.[8] In 2010 he was ranked number 39 in the senior category.[8]
Discography
Studio albums
Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
---|---|---|
UK [9] | ||
Only When We're Naked |
|
100 |
Extended plays
Title | Details |
---|---|
Joker presents Zak Abel |
|
One Hand on the Future |
|
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"[12] (with Seeb) |
2020 | Sad in Scandinavia |
- As featured artist
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [9] |
UK Dance [13] |
GER [14] |
SCO [15] |
SWI [16] | ||||||||||
"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"[17] (Don Diablo featuring Zak Abel) |
2020 | — | — | — | — | — | Forever | |||||||
"Freedom"[18] (Kygo featuring Zak Abel) |
— | — | 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
- "Abel and willing to be a success". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
- The Jewish Chronicle: 2016-05-20 - "ZAK ABEL"
- "The Gower 2013". issuu.com. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
- "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. 2018-11-01. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- "Only When We're Naked by Zak Abel on Apple Music". iTunes Store (AU). Retrieved 3 February 2018.
- "Zak Abel Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
- "Zak Abel: From table tennis star to music sensation" — Table Tennis England
- "The Maccabi Awards: In full". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
- Peak positions in the United Kingdom:
- For all except noted: "ZAK ABEL | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- For "Unmissable": "GORGON CITY FT ZAK ABEL | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- "Joker Presents Zak Abel – EP by Zak Abel on Apple Music". iTunes Store (GB). Retrieved 3 February 2018.
- "One Hand on the Future by Zak Abel on Apple Music". iTunes Store (GB). Retrieved 3 February 2018.
- "Sad in Scandinavia - Single by Seeb & Zak Abel on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40 | 05 October 2014 - 11 October 2014". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- "Zak Abel". officialcharts.de (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 | 05 October 2014 - 11 October 2014". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- "Discographie Zak Abel". swisscharts.com/. Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- "Bad (feat. Zak Abel) - Single by Don Diablo on Apple Music". iTunes Store. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- 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.