Ben Abraham | |
---|---|
Born | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | May 12, 1985
Genres | |
Years active | 2014–present |
Labels | Inertia Recordings, Atlantic Records, Secretly Canadian |
Website | benabrahammusic |
Ben Abraham (born 12 May 1985) is an Australian folk singer and songwriter from Melbourne. Ben collaborated with artists including Kesha and Sara Bareilles. He co-wrote "Praying" by Kesha.[1]
Abraham's parents were both musicians who played together in the Indonesian pop group Pahama.[2] His sister is Michaela Jayde, who appeared in 2023 on the twelfth season of The Voice and received a four-chair-turn in her audition.[citation needed] Abraham initially sought to become a screenwriter, and concurrently began songwriting while working in a hospital.
In 2014, he released his debut album, Sirens in Australia, which he described as "basically a roadmap of my awkward naïve insecure 20s".[3] In March 2016, the album was reissued by Secretly Canadian.[4] The album includes the track "This Is On Me", which features American vocalist Sara Bareilles,[5] as well as appearances by fellow Australian Gotye.[6]
In 2016 and 2017, Abraham also co-wrote with artists Wafia, Ta-ku and Wrabel on their respective singles "Heartburn", "Meet in the Middle", and "Bloodstain." Abraham's voice has been compared to Guy Garvey and Peter Gabriel.[7] CMJ's Eric Davidson calls Abraham's voice "delicate yet booming" and Sirens a "strong, electro-soul" record.[8]
At the APRA Music Awards of 2018, he won the Overseas Recognition Award and was nominated for Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year.[9][10][11]
In September 2021, Abrahams announced the release of his forthcoming second studio album. On 1 October, the album's fifth single "I Am Here" was released, which is set to appear in the season premiere of ABC's Grey's Anatomy.[12]
He came out as queer in 2022. [13]
Title | Album details |
---|---|
Sirens |
|
Friendly Fire |
|
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
---|---|---|---|
AUS | |||
"Speak"[15] | 2014 | - | Sirens |
"Home"[16] | 2015 | - | |
"In My Head" (Sak Pase featuring Ben Abraham)[17] |
2017 | - | — |
"dear insecurity" (gnash featuring Ben Abraham)[18] |
2018 | - | We |
"Satellite"[19] | 2019 | - | — |
"Nobody Wants To Hear Songs Anymore"[20] | - | ||
"In Your Eyes"[21] | 2020 | - | |
"Like a Circle"[22] | 2021 | - | Friendly Fire |
"War in Your Arms"[23] | - | ||
"Requiem"[24] | - | ||
"Runaway"[25] | - | ||
"I Am Here"[12] | - | ||
"If I Didn't Love You"[26] | 2022 | - | |
"Another Falling Star"[27] | - | ||
"Never Been Better" | 2023 | - | TBA |
Title | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"Wasn't It Good" (Ainslie Wills and Ben Abraham) |
2017 | Greatest Hits & Interpretations |
"Run So Fast" (Missy Higgins featuring Ben Abraham) |
2018 | The Special Ones |
"Eat Your Food" | 2020 | At Home with the Kids |
The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Ben Abraham | Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year | Nominated | [28] |
Ben Abraham | Overseas Recognition Award | Won |