Ben Abraham (musician)

Ben Abraham
Born (1985-05-12) May 12, 1985 (age 39)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Genres
Years active2014–present
LabelsInertia Recordings, Atlantic Records, Secretly Canadian
Websitebenabrahammusic.com

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]

Career

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, Abraham 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]

In 2023, Abraham was dropped by Atlantic Records[14]. This led to Abraham embracing the freedoms that come with being Independent.

Discography

Albums

List of albums, with selected details
Title Album details
Sirens
  • Released: November 2014
  • Label: Inertia Recordings (IR5240CD)
  • Format: CD, digital
Friendly Fire

Singles

List of singles, with Australian chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
AUS
"Speak"[16] 2014 - Sirens
"Home"[17] 2015 -
"In My Head"
(Sak Pase featuring Ben Abraham)[18] 		2017 - —
"dear insecurity"
(gnash featuring Ben Abraham)[19] 		2018 - We
"Satellite"[20] 2019 - —
"Nobody Wants To Hear Songs Anymore"[21] -
"In Your Eyes"[22] 2020 -
"Like a Circle"[23] 2021 - Friendly Fire
"War in Your Arms"[24] -
"Requiem"[25] -
"Runaway"[26] -
"I Am Here"[12] -
"If I Didn't Love You"[27] 2022 -
"Another Falling Star"[28] -
"Never Been Better" 2023 - TBA
“Kidung” 2024 - -
“I Don’t Want To Wait”
“Never Been Better Remix”
“War In Your Arms (Indonesian Version)”

Other appearances

List of other non-single song appearances
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
“Sometimes (with Ben Abraham) (Trousdale featuring Ben Abraham) 2024 Out of My Mind (Deluxe)

Awards and nominations

APRA Awards

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 [29]
Ben Abraham Overseas Recognition Award Won

References

  1. ^ Kesha Previews First New Album in Five Years With Triumphant Song 'Praying'. Rolling Stone, 6 July 2017.
  2. ^ Ben Abraham at Allmusic
  3. ^ Ben Abraham's debut follows a long star-studded road. Sydney Morning Herald, 14 November 2014.
  4. ^ Review Archived 9 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Rolling Stone Australia.
  5. ^ Sirens review, Allmusic
  6. ^ World Cafe Next: Ben Abraham. NPR, 29 February 2016.
  7. ^ Review, Indie London
  8. ^ Davidson, Eric. "Last Night This Morning...Friday at CMJ 2015". CMJ. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  9. ^ "Full List of Winners". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). Archived from the original on 5 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  10. ^ "Overseas Recognition Award". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  11. ^ "Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  12. ^ a b c "Ben Abrahams Unveils New Single "I Am Here"". www.milkymilkymilky.com. 1 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  13. ^ "Singer Ben Abraham reveals moment he came out to longtime girlfriend before powerful announcement: 'It set the bomb off'". Metro.co.uk. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  14. ^ https://carols.visionaustralia.org/performers/ben-abraham
  15. ^ "Friendly Fire by Ben Abraham". Apple Music. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  16. ^ "Speak by Ben Abraham". SoundCloud. August 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  17. ^ "Home - Single by Ben Abraham". Apple Music. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  18. ^ "In My Head - Single by Sak Pase featuring Ben Abraham". Apple Music. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  19. ^ "dear insecurity - Single by gnash featuring Ben Abraham". Apple Music. 10 August 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  20. ^ "Satellite - Single by Ben Abraham". Apple Music. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  21. ^ "Nobody Wants To Hear Songs Anymore - Single by Ben Abraham". Apple Music. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  22. ^ "In Your Eyes - Single by Ben Abraham". Apple Music. 21 August 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  23. ^ "Like a Circle - Single by Ben Abraham". Apple Music. 5 April 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  24. ^ "War in Your Arms - Single by Ben Abraham". Apple Music. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  25. ^ "Requiem - Single by Ben Abraham". Apple Music. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  26. ^ "Ben Abraham releases "Runaway"". amnplify. 12 September 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  27. ^ "Ben Abraham Releases New Track, "If I Didn't Love You"". prelude press. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  28. ^ "New Aus Music Playlist ADDITIONS – 11/03/22". Music Feeds. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  29. ^ "2018 APRA Awards nominations announced, with producer-songwriters leading the charge". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). 15 March 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.