Zack Knight

Zack Knight (born 22 November 1991) is a British-Asian singer-songwriter, music composer, director and producer.[1][2][3] He is well-known for hit songs including Bom Diggy, Galtiyan, Nakhre and Enemy, the former appearing on a Bollywood comedy. He was previously known by his stage name "Zeekay" prior to fame

Zack Knight
Born22nd November 1991
Grimsby, Lincolnshire
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, music director, producer
Years active2011–present
Labels
Associated actsZeekay/ Zee Kay (2007-10)
Websiteiamzackknight.uk

Life and career

Born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England, to a Pakistani Punjabi Mother and an Afro-Asian Father, Zack Knight used influences from both his heritage and upbringing in his music, which he describes as "R&B infused style with a crossover sound",[4] peppered with Bollywood and Middle-Eastern influences. Zack Knight cites Michael Jackson, Boyz II Men, and Usher as his main inspiration behind his music.[5] He produces, composes and engineers his own music.[6]

2007-10 - The Zeekay Years

Operating under the stage name "Zeekay"/"Zee Kay", Knight began his career primarily as a songwriter, writing songs for artists such as Tinie Tempah, Ginuwine, IYAZ and various X Factor contestants. His first major success was with writing the hit single "Baby (Dil Deewana)", for US R&B artist Ginuwine, in 2008. Shortly after, he started producing several R&B/Hip-hop singles himself; his debut single "My Moment", released in 2008, reaching third in the Myspace R&B charts,[7] which consequently led to him landing a production deal with the highly acclaimed "Mr Skills", creator of "Big Brova's", with whom he had been working on his debut album.[8] From here, Zack produced several other singles, including "In Denial", "On Fire" and "Save It", which boosted his popularity and credibility both within the Asian music industry and the wider music industry.[9][10] From here, Zack transitioned to supporting the likes of Taio Cruz, Mario and Jessie J in Live concerts and shows.[11] Simultaneously, he was studying for a Degree in Economics, which he had to put on hold in order to concentrate on his musical aspirations. He eventually graduated; however, after 2010, he had to re-brand his music from under his stage name/alias, Zeekay, to under his real name, Zack Knight, as he is still known by now.[12]

2011-14 - Re-branding, Covers & Albums

After 2010, Zack Knight, now operating without his stage name/alias, produced several singles and albums. As a result of the re-branding, he was now working with new artists and producers, therefore his style of music changed, with a less of a focus on hip-hop mainstream music to more of a pop music sound.[13] He received regional and national support from his debut single "All Over Again" in 2012, and his second single "Who I Am" was also featured as one of iTunes “New & Noteworthy” picks of the month, which was followed by his third single "When I'm Gone".[14][15] He was also active in producing his own covers, as well as remixes of popular songs, on his YouTube channel.[16] He produced two albums: "Poison In My Sleep (LP)" (2014) [17] and "On Repeat" (released 2016, although the songs dated back to 2012).[18]

2014-present

In 2014, Zack Knight signed a deal with India's largest record label, T-Series, which propelled him to fame both in the UK Asian industry as well as the Indian subcontinent. Under this record label, he produced several popular singles, including hits like "Dheere", "Nakhre", "Enemy", "Looking For Love", and "Tere Naam", some of which topped the BBC Asian Network Charts. He collaborated with various high-profile artists within the BBC Asian Network Industry, including the likes of Raxstar, Jasmin Walia and Jernade Miah amongst others. He has also collaborated with famous artists outside the UK, such as Indian rapper Badshah, Indian playback singer Mohammad Irfan, and American YouTube personality Adam Saleh. After being appointed BBC Music Ambassador in 2017, he successfully sold out both of his own UK headline tours in the following year.

During this period, Zack also wrote and produced, India’s number one Billboard Hit “Bom Diggy”, featuring Jasmin Walia, amassing over 880 million views on YouTube (as of January 2021).[19] The track also appeared in the Bollywood comedy Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (2018). This was accompanied by 2 Top 5 peaking singles in the UK R&B iTunes charts (“Ya Baba”, “Tears”), 1 Top 10 UK Dance iTunes chart ("Love Controller"), three Consecutive Number ones on the BBC Asian Network Download Chart ("Nakhre", "Lamhe", "Enemy"),[20][21][22] and 10 top five singles in the World/Asian Charts.

He continues to create remixes, mashups and medleys. His remixes typically follow the style of compiling several Bollywood songs and mixing them with English R&B fusion,[23] or making acoustic-type covers and remixes of popular songs or his own songs.[24][25][26]

Awards
Year Award Name
2015 Best Breakthrough Act, Brit Asia TV Music Awards[27]
2015 Pakistan Music Media Awards[28]
2017 Best Urban Asian Act, Brit Asia TV Music Awards[29]
2018 Best Music Director, International Indian Film Academy [30]
2018 Album of the Year, Mirchi Music Awards, IN [31]

Discography

Singles
Year Track Name Featuring Label Ref.
2013 "Runaway Now" Prestige Records
"Smoke & Mirrors"
2014 "Pyaas" Khiza Hi-Tech Music Ltd
"Tere Naal" Khiza, Soni J
"Dheere" Khiza, Kumar Sanu T-Series
"Makin 'em Mad" Shad Star ?
"Who You Are" Kirk Norcross ?
"Superhuman Lovers" Juvey, Erlando Quantize Music
2015 "Women" Shide Boss Merci Records
"Lamhe" Hi-Tech Music Ltd
"Green Eyes" SCALES Mixmash Records
"Snap" Quantize Music
"MVP" Jernade Miah ?
"Looking for Love (Main Dhoondne)" Arijit Singh T-Series [32]
"Nakhre" [33]
"Main Aur Tum"
"Queen" Raxstar
"Your Name (Tujhe Bhula Diya)" Mohit Chauhan ?
"Tears" Adam Saleh Naz Promotions
2016 "Dum Dee Dum" Jasmin Walia T-Series [34]
"Ishq Mubarak (Refix)"
(for Tum Bin II)		 Arijit Singh [35]
"Enemy" [36]
"Tere Naam" [37]
"BomBae" Fuse ODG, Badshah Off Da Ground
"Ya Baba" Rami Beatz Quantize Music [38]
"Chahat"
"Love Controller" Dayne S Revolve Records [39]
2017 "General" Joe Killington Revolve Records [40]
"Cry for Me" [41]
"Bom Diggy" Jasmin Walia Saavn [42]
"Galtiyan" Quantize Music [43]
2018 "Bom Diggy Diggy"
(for Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety)		 Jasmin Walia T-Series [44]
"Need Your Love" Nicolina ?
"Till I Met You" Revolve Records [45]
"Thumka" Ayesha Mughal [46]
"Bills"
"Instagram Famous" Adam Saleh Naz Promotions
"Gimme That"
2019 "Gotta Go" Revolve Records
"Angel"
"Tumhari Jagga"
2020 "Dua" Revolve Records
"Dil Diya Laya"
"Crash and Burn" Adam Saleh
"Beautiful To Me"
"Adhura"

References
  1. Zack Knight readies debut single. Music-News.com (5 February 2012). Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  2. Benkovic, Andrew. "Zack Knight: Taking Risks, Touring, and 'Makin Em Mad'". Huffingpost. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  3. "Jasmine Walia's new single with Zack Knight 'Sahara' crosses 1.2 million views". RadioAndMusic.com. IndianTelevision.com. 2 May 2018.
  4. "iamzackknight - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  5. "New Music Showcase - Zack Knight". BBC Music Events. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  6. "Get ready to groove on Zack Knight-Jasmin Walia's 'Bom Diggy'". www.outlookindia.com/. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  7. "ZeeKay - My Moment". Desi-Box.com. 24 June 2008. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  8. "Exclusive 'Zee Kay' Interview". Bhangra Website | SimplyBhangra.com | Home of Bhangra Online. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  9. "Zeekay biography". artistwiki.com. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  10. "ZeeKay (Zack Knight) All Songs - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  11. "iamzackknight - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  12. "Zack Knight clears the air about his name". Desi-Box.com. 23 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  13. Admin (19 September 2015). "The talented Zack Knight's bollywood medley". British Muslim Magazine. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  14. Admin (19 September 2015). "The talented Zack Knight's bollywood medley". British Muslim Magazine. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  15. "Zack Knight releases 'When I'm Gone' | Asian Sunday Newspaper". Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  16. "iamzackknight - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  17. "Poison In My Sleep LP/Album - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  18. "On Repeat - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  19. "Bom Diggy Diggy (VIDEO) | Zack Knight | Jasmin Walia | Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  20. "Nakhre". ITUNES.
  21. "Lamhe". ITUNES.
  22. "Enemy". ITUNES.
  23. "Bollywood Medleys - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  24. "Acoustic Renditions - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  25. "Covers - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  26. "Live Sessions (BBC Asian Network) - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  27. Laws, Roz. "Who won at the BritAsia TV World Music Awards 2015?". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  28. Laws, Roz. "Zack knight @ Pakistan music media awards 2015". Birmingham Mailyoutube. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  29. "BritAsia TV World Music Awards 2017 celebrated". New Asian Post. 4 March 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  30. "Best Music Director". www.imdb.com.
  31. "Album of the year". www.imdb.com.
  32. "Looking For Love (Main Dhoondne)". iTunes. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  33. "Nakhre - Single". iTunes. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  34. "Dum Dee Dum - Single by Zack Knight & Jasmin Walia". iTunes. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  35. "Ishq Mubarak Refix". YouTube.
  36. "Enemy - Single by Zack Knight". iTunes. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  37. "Tere Naam - Single by Zack Knight". iTunes. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  38. "Ya Baba (feat. Rami Beatz) - Single by Zack Knight". iTunes. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  39. "Love Controller (feat. Dayne S) - Single by Zack Knight". iTunes. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  40. "General - Single by Zack Knight". iTunes. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  41. "Cry For Me - Single by Zack Knight". iTunes. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  42. "Bom Diggy - Single by Zack Knight & Jasmin Walia". iTunes. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  43. "Galtiyan - Single by Zack Knight". iTunes. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  44. "Bom Diggy Diggy (From "Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety") - Single by Zack Knight & Jasmin Walia". iTunes. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  45. "Till I Met You - Single by Zack Knight". iTunes. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  46. "Zack Knight Thumka Song". YouTube.
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