Zak David Zilesnick (born 1 March 1995), better known professionaly as Zak Abel, is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He has also been an English Cadet national table tennis champion.
Zak Abel | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Zak David Zilesnick |
| Also known as | Zak Abel[citation needed] |
| Born | 1 March 1995 |
| Origin | London, England, UK |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Labels | Atlantic |
Early and personal life
His father, who had been born in Morocco and immigrated 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]
He 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]
Music career
Zilesnick won a competition to sing at Israel's 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 youth player
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 |
| — | ||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||
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"[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 | ||||||||
| "For Life" (Kygo featuring Zak Abel and Nile Rodgers) | 2024 | 75 | 29 | — | — | 75 | Kygo | |||||||
| "—" 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 |