Zack Tabudlo

Zack Nimrod D. Tabudlo (born December 6, 2001) is a Filipino singer, songwriter, musician, and producer. Tabudlo has collaborated with fellow artists like Sharlene San Pedro, Moira Dela Torre, James Reid, Violette Wautier, and Al James. He was first seen as a contestant on the first season of The Voice Kids under Bamboo Mañalac's mentorship, where he was eliminated in the competition's second round. He later began his musical career in 2018 before he rose to fame in 2020 when he joined MCA Music (now UMG Philippines) through sub-label Island Records Philippines.

His debut single "Nangangamba" was released in 2020. His song "Binibini", released in 2021, broke a record as the top local song on Spotify's Philippines charts. His debut album, Episode, was released on October 15, 2021. His track "Pano" became the longest-running number-one OPM song on Spotify Philippines, the first number-one song to debut on the Billboard Philippines Songs chart, and charted in other Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

In 2022, Tabudlo became one of the artists signed to the Republic Records Philippines label under UMG Philippines. On February 20, 2022, he performed in Expo 2020 Dubai.

In 2023, he released his track "Akin Ka" in anticipation of his second studio album Zack: For All released on February 14. Aside from For All, he also released another album, Third Time's a Charm, that year.

Early life
Tabudlo grew up in a music-loving family. His father was part of a band when he was still in college. His mother, before she passed, worked as a hotel singer, while his sister and grandmother also possessed singing talents. He first learned to play the guitar by watching YouTube videos.

2014–2017: Singing competitions, Gravity, and Zack and Fritz
At the age of 10, Tabudlo began his music career when he competed on Talentadong Pinoy and became a finalist. In 2014, when he was 12 years old, Tabudlo auditioned for the first season of The Voice Kids. According to him, he did it to get a girl's attention, aside from receiving encouragement from his grandparents. He auditioned with "Sunday Morning". Bamboo chose to turn his chair around for him, and he joined Bamboo's team. He then advanced to the Battle Rounds, where he, Rommel Bautista, and Gem Capalad performed “I’ll Be There”. Capalad moved on to the next round and he and Bautista were eliminated. The experience inspired him to keep performing. As for the girl Tabudlo wanted to impress, she did not return his affection. His father then encouraged him to channel his frustrations into songwriting. He then formed a singing group with other The Voice Kids alumni called Gravity. He wrote one of their songs "Imposible". The group eventually disbanded.

Tabudlo then formed a duo with Eufritz Santos, a member of Gravity. They had one song together, "Ikaw ang Pangarap Ko". They also decided to part ways.

2018–20: Ghost producing and beginning of solo career
Tabudlo then worked for two years with various foreign artists as a ghost producer. As a ghost producer, he never got any credit for his work, but did get an offer for residency in the US, which he turned down. He eventually stopped ghost producing with encouragement from his father, who was now also his manager. His father also encouraged him to write more Tagalog songs. He continued producing songs with Jonathan Ong and Chris Anthony Vinzons of Sonic State Studio.

In 2019, Tabudlo wrote several songs including "Mahal o Biro" and "Umaasa". He then collaborated with Sharlene San Pedro on the song “Everything Will Be Alright”. They collaborated once again on the song "Pusong Naliligaw", which they got to perform on iWant ASAP.

2020–2022: Breakout years, Episode, and Republic Records
In 2020, Tabudlo signed on to Spotify's RADAR program, which is aimed at helping local artists gain more recognition. He also signed on to Island Records Philippines that year, becoming the first artist signed by the label. His debut single for Island Records was “Nangangamba”. It gradually gained listeners, then went viral on TikTok.

On February 12, 2021, Tabudlo released his first single of the year "Iyong-Iyo". This was followed by "Elizabeth", a 80's sounding single inspired by actress Liza Soberano. On March 26, "Binibini" was released. A music video followed several days later. "Binibini" went on to become the longest-running number #1 local track by a Filipino RADAR artist on Spotify Philippines Top 50 chart. It also made it onto other Spotify charts in other countries including Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Its success led to a new version featuring the vocals of James TW and new lyrics written in English.

Tabudlo got to join the virtual YouTube FanFest that year. At the beginning of October, he announced that he would be releasing his debut album that month. On October 15, 2021, his debut album Episode was released, with all 14 tracks on the album getting a music video. It contained themes including heartbreak, anxiety, happiness, and other emotions. On December 6, he released the single "Pano". He closed out the year with a performance at the BYE 2021 virtual concert, which included a duet of "Give Me Your Forever" with Thai singer and actor Billkin. A month later, they would release an official version of that duet.

Tabudlo started 2022 by releasing "HATDOG", a collaboration with James Reid, on New Year's Day. He then won Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the 7th Wish 107.5 Music Awards. In February, he released his duet with Moira Dela Torre "Iba". Later that month, Billboard launched the Philippines Songs chart. On its first week, two of his songs took the top spots with "Pano" claiming #1, and "Habang Buhay" claiming #2. "Pano" went on to stay at #1 for eleven consecutive weeks. Later that month, he performed in the Expo 2020 Dubai. He then staged a free digital concert called "Sabihin Mo Na" on his YouTube channel. On April 29, he released his single "As You Are". He then toured the US with December Avenue.

On July 9, Tabudlo became one of the artists in the newly-launched Republic Records Philippines label under UMG Philippines. His first single under that label was "Yakap", which was then followed by "Pero". October of that year was a busy month for him as he released three music videos and also released singles featuring Thai singer Tiara Andini and Malaysian rapper Yonnyboii respectively. More milestones also came for his hit "Pano", as it got its own music video and became the first Filipino song to enter Spotify Malaysia's Top 50. He also got to perform with LANY when the band held a concert in the Philippines. On November 29, he released "Pinadama" which featured on the soundtrack of the film An Inconvenient Love. He then closed out the year with a performance at the Head in the Clouds Festival in Manila. For 2022, he was the most-streamed local artist in the Philippines. His music video for "Asan Ka Na Ba?" was among YouTube Philippines's most-viewed music videos for that year, while "Pano" was the most-listened to song in the country on YouTube.

2023–present: Zack: For All and Third Time's a Charm
Tabudlo started 2023 by debuting the single "Akin Ka" in his performance at the 8th Wish 107.5 Music Awards, while his song "Asan Ka Na Ba" took home Rock/Alternative Song of the Year. On February 14, he released his second album Zack: For All. On May 26, he released "Gusto", which featured Filipino rapper Al James. He also collaborated with many international artists that year including Johnny Orlando, Joan, Mae Stephens, Violette Wautier, and more. He then joined Coke Studio's international program as its first Filipino artist, and got the opportunity to collaborate with South African hiphop artist Nasty C on "Fallin'". That year, he became the first Filipino male solo artist to achieve one billion Spotify streams.

Tabudlo released several more solo singles in 2023 including "Delulu", and "Ako Nalang Kasi". On October 14, he held a concert at Bonifacio Global City (BGC) to celebrate Episode's second anniversary of its release. The event went on break the record for biggest audience at a music event held in BGC with over 10,000 in attendance. He then started a world tour called "The Morning Tour" beginning in North America. On November 10, he released his lead single for his third album "Victim". A week later on November 17, he released his third album Third Time's a Charm. Once again, he was the most-streamed male local artist for the year.

On January 12, 2024, Tabudlo released his first song of the year "Pulso". He also continued "The Morning Tour" with a show in Singapore and held his first major concert at the Mall of Asia Arena. On May 17, he released his comeback single "Feel This Way".

Influences
Tabudlo has cited LANY, John Mayer, Shawn Mendes, Bamboo, Ed Sheeran, and Charlie Puth as his influences. For his second album, he cited more influences to his music such as James Brown, Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Harry Styles, and Michael Jackson, and OPM artists April Boy Regino, and VST & Company. The American alt-pop duo joan has also been what he calls his "musical heroes" as he listened to their songs when he was going through his first heartbreak. He had actually wanted to produce music with them when he was 16 before getting the chance to work with them on the track "Superglue" in 2023. He has also had several mentors including Moira dela Torre and producers Jonathan Ong, Chris Anthony Vinzons, and Cleng Saturno (son of Vehnee Saturno).

Musical style
Tabudlo is described as having powerful and soulful vocals. His vocals are also multi-range, capable of going up to falsetto. He blends genres such as R&B, soft rock, funk and vocally driven pop.

When writing songs, Tabudlo often focuses on his experiences. For his album Zack: For All, he focused instead on a specific sound and feel that he wanted. The songs he writes are often described as "hugot" songs, deeply emotional songs.

Personal life
Tabudlo is currently in a relationship with his non-showbiz girlfriend. His girlfriend is the subject of his songs "Pulso" and "Feel This Way". He lives with two bulldogs.

In 2020, Tabudlo started college at the University of Perpetual Help in Las Piñas. He was in his first year of college studying Mass Communication when he had to stop schooling as he got busier with his music career.

In 2023, Tabudlo was implicated in rumors involving him in the breakup of Moira Dela Torre with her husband Jason Hernandez. These rumors caused him to attempt to take his own life, but he was quickly rushed to the ER, where doctors were able to save his life.