Draft:ZABDIEL

Zabdiel De Jesús Colón (born December 13, 1997), known monomously as Zabdiel (stylized in all caps) is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and producer. He was a member of Latin boyband CNCO from its inception in December 2015 until its dissolvement in November 2023. His first output as a solo artist was the song "Aventura" with Spanish singer Ana Mena, released in August 2023.

1997–2014: Early life
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. 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.

2015–2023: La Banda and CNCO
On Septmeber 13, 2015, Zabdiel auditioned for the first season of La Banda, a Spanish-language competition series based in the mainland United States and aired on Univision, before the judge panel formed by fellow Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Ricky Martin, Italian recording artist Laura Pausini, and Spanish musician Alejandro Sanz. The goal of the show was to find the next big Latin boy band. Zabdiel gain notoriety after his audition, which received a 90% acceptance rate, and allowed him to move on to the next round. During the show, Zabdiel peformed the following songs as a soloist: "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 were also put together to form boy bands in the show, and sang several Spanish and English songs from bigger 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 being announced as CNCO. The boys 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, the newly-formed boyband performed the song "Devuélveme Mi Corazón", which they sang a second time at the Times Square in New York City for Univision's Feliz 2016 New Year's celebration.

CNCO released their debut album Primera Cita in August 2016 to positive reviews, reaching number 1 on the Top Latin Albums chart in the U.S., and its third single "Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos)" became their breakthrough hit, peaking within the top 10 of Latin American countries and the Hot Latin Songs chart. They released their eponymous second studio album in April 2018, which included the singles "Hey DJ" with Puerto Rican singer Yandel, and a remixed version of "Reggaetόn Lento" with British girl group Little Mix. Their debut EP Qué Quiénes Somos, was released in October 2019, and debuted within the top 15 of the Top Latin Albums chart. The band released their third studio album Déjà Vu in February 2021, their last with member Joel, who exited the group three months later. In July 2023, the boyband's separation was announced by Zabdiel at the Premios Juventud ceremony of that year while accepting the award for Best Fandom. They released their final album XOXO on the anniversary of their debut. The band went on their farewell tour, titled La Última Cita, before disbanding after their last show on November 17, 2023, in Puerto Rico.

2021–present: Solo career and songwriting
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. He also co-wrote "Aún Te Quiero" by Mexican vocalist Danna Paola, released on November 23, 2023, as the fourth single from her seventh studio album CHILDSTAR.

On August 16, 2023, Zabdiel released a spoken word/instrumental audio on streaming platforms, called "Intro", in which he states: "[...] this is going to be my space to share my art, my music with you / What I have been visualizing for years, the thousands of ideas that filled my mind / And now you're going to be a part of it". Eight days later, on August 24, Zabdiel released his solo debut single "Aventura" with Spanish singer Ana Mena. The song is a cover of the 2006 Bachata single "Tengo Un Amor" by Toby Love, and Zabdiel and Ana Mena had previously collaborated on her CNCO-assisted single "Ahora Lloras Tú" in 2017. On September 28, he released the song "Película" with singers Mar Lucas and Seven Kayne. He accompanied singer Blanko on his single "Sirena" released on October 20. Due to little to no promotion, the songs failed to appear in any chart, although "Aventura" managed to accumulate over one million views on YouTube.