Zabdiel

Zabdiel De Jesús Colón was born on December 13, 1997, in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, to parents Noemi Colόn Gandía and Carlos "Charlie" De Jesús. He has a younger brother named Xavier. Zabdiel grew a passion for music thanks to his father, who taught him how to play the guitar at a young age.^[3] He formed a salsa and hip-hop group with friends in middle school, and studied ballet at La Escuela de Bellas Artes in the city.^[4]

On September 13, 2015, Zabdiel auditioned for the first season of La Banda, a Spanish-language competition series based in the mainland United States. The judge panel was formed by fellow Puerto Rican artist Ricky Martin, Italian singer-songwriter Laura Pausini, and Spanish musician Alejandro Sanz. Zabdiel gained notoriety after his audition, which received a 90% acceptance rate and allowed him to move on to the next round. During the show, Zabdiel performed the following songs as a soloist: "Mientes" (Camila), "A Thousand Years" (Christina Perri), "Ginza" (J Balvin), "Volví a Nacer" (Carlos Vives), "Coleccionista de Canciones" (Camila), "Aunque Ahora Estes con Él" (Calibre 50), and "Salomé" (Chayanne). The contestants performed in judge-formed bands, singing several Spanish and English songs from established artists.

On the show's finale, which took place on December 13, Zabdiel was one of the five boys chosen to form the band, alongside Christopher Velez, Richard Camacho, Joel Pimentel, and Erick Brian Colón, with the group's name announced as CNCO. The band won a five-year recording contract with Sony Music Latin, with Martin serving as their representative and Wisin producing their first album. Following the announcement, they performed the song "Devuélveme Mi Corazón", which they sang again at Times Square in New York City for Univision's Feliz 2016 New Year's celebration.^[5][6]

CNCO's first two albums, Primera Cita and CNCO, were released in August 2016 and April 2018, topping the Top Latin Albums chart in the U.S.^[7][8] Their respective singles "Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos)", and "Hey DJ" with Puerto Rican singer Yandel, peaked within the top 20 of Latin American countries and the Hot Latin Songs chart.^[9] The band's EP, Qué Quiénes Somos, was released in October 2019 and debuted within the top 15 of the Top Latin Albums chart. Déjà Vu, their third studio album, and last with member Joel, was released in February 2021.^[10][11] In July 2022, the group's separation was announced by Zabdiel at the Premios Juventud ceremony of that year while accepting the award for Best Fandom.^[12] Their final album XOXO was released in August 2023. The band went on their farewell La Última Cita tour, disbanding after their last show on November 17, 2023, in Puerto Rico.

Zabdiel co-wrote "Buscando Amor", the second track of the Spanish-language debut EP Revelación from American singer Selena Gomez, released on March 12, 2021.^[13] He also co-wrote "Aún Te Quiero" by Mexican singer Danna, released on November 23, 2023, as the fourth single from her seventh studio album CHILDSTAR.^[14]

El 16 de agosto de 2023, Zabdiel lanzó un audio instrumental hablado en plataformas de streaming, llamado "Intro", en el que declara: "[...] este va a ser mi espacio para compartir mi arte, mi música con ustedes / Lo que he estado visualizando durante años, las miles de ideas que llenaron mi mente / Y ahora van a ser parte de ello". ^{[ 15 ]} Ocho días después, el 24 de agosto, Zabdiel lanzó su sencillo debut en solitario "Aventura" con la cantante española Ana Mena . ^{[ 16 ]} La canción es una versión del sencillo de bachata de 2006 " Tengo Un Amor " de Toby Love , y Zabdiel y Ana Mena habían colaborado previamente en su sencillo con la asistencia de CNCO "Ahora Lloras Tú" en 2017 para su álbum Index . ^{[ 17 ]} El 28 de septiembre, lanzó la canción "Película" con los cantantes Mar Lucas y Seven Kayne. ^{[ 18 ]} Apareció en el sencillo "Sirena" del cantante ecuatoriano Blanko, lanzado el 20 de octubre. ^{[ 19 ]} Debido a la poca o nula promoción, las canciones no aparecieron en ninguna lista, aunque "Aventura" ha logrado acumular más de un millón de visitas en YouTube .