Kwabs
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Kwabs | |
|---|---|
 Kwabs on stage in 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kwabena Sarkodee Adjepong |
| Born | 24 April 1990 London, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 2011–present |
| Labels | Atlantic |
| Website | kwabsmusic |
Kwabena Sarkodee Adjepong (born 24 April 1990),[1] better known by his stage name Kwabs, is an English singer and songwriter. He is best known for his international hit "Walk".
Early life[edit]
Born in London,[2] Kwabs was raised in Bermondsey, Southwark, to Ghanaian parents.[3] At The Charter School, his music teacher Xanthe Sarr and manager of the Southwark Youth Orchestra, introduced Kwabs to the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. Accepted in the programme, he became the lead singer of the orchestra for four years. He also studied jazz at the Royal Academy of Music.
Career[edit]
2011–12: Beginnings[edit]
In 2011, Kwabs was in the BBC television show Goldie's Band: By Royal Appointment of drum-and-bass musician Goldie, a UK nationwide platform to search for young talented musicians, and one of twelve artists chosen to create some musical pieces for a special performance at Buckingham Palace. This culminated in Kwabs appearing in a 2011 presentation,[3] performing a rendition of "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child".
In 2012, he released cover versions of "Like a Star" by Corinne Bailey Rae and "The Wilhelm Scream" by James Blake. The Kwabs version went viral on YouTube. He signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records collaborating with a number of artists for his debut EP Wrong or Right with critical acclaim.[4]
2014–present: Love + War[edit]
The subsequent EPs Pray for Love and Walk EP have a more pop-oriented sound, with Walk EP containing the hit single "Walk", Kwabs' best known release, launched on 5 October 2014 on Atlantic Records.[5] It was a minor hit in the United Kingdom, reaching number 71, but became hugely popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It was also number one on the iTunes Music charts.
In April 2015, Kwabs released the single "Perfect Ruin", and on 11 September 2015, he released his debut studio album Love & War.
In popular culture[edit]
- "Saved" was used in a number of promotional trailers for the second series of the BBC's The Musketeers.
- "Walk" was used in the soundtrack of EA Sports video game FIFA 15, along with promotional trailers for the BBC's coverage of the 2015 general election. It was also used in an ad for the WeAreUs August 2015 ad for Boohoo.com.
Discography[edit]
Studio albums[edit]
| Title | Details | Peak positions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [6] | AUT [7] | BEL (Fl) [8] | GER [9] | HUN [10] | NL [11] | SWI [12] | ||
| Love + War |
| 26 | 44 | 39 | 26 | 24 | 23 | 12 |
Extended plays[edit]
| Title | Details | Notes | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wrong or Right |
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| Pray for Love |
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| Walk |
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Singles[edit]
| Year | Title | Peak positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [6] | AUT [7] | BEL (Fl) [8] | BEL (Wa) [13] | GER [9] | NL [11] | NOR [14] | SWI [12] | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | "Wrong or Right" | — | — | 67[A] | — | — | — | — | — | Love + War | |||||||||
| "Walk" (solo or featuring Fetty Wap) | 71 | 3 | 53[A] | 59[A] | 1 | 98 | 12 | 4 | |||||||||||
| 2015 | "My Own" | — | — | 84[A] | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| 2021 | "Signals"[19] (with Regard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |||||||||
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||||||
- Non-charting
- 2014: "Fight for Love"
- 2014: "Pray for Love"
- 2015: "Perfect Ruin"
- 2015: "Look Over Your Shoulder"
- 2022: "Hurt A Little"
As featured artist[edit]
| Year | Title | Peak positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [6] | AUS [20] | FRA [21] | |||
| 2015 | "Willing and Able" (Disclosure featuring Kwabs) | 70 | 78 | 116 | Caracal |
Music videos[edit]
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2014 | "Wrong or Right" |
| "Pray for Love" | |
| "Walk" | |
| "Saved" | |
| 2015 | "Perfect Ruin" |
| "Fight for Love" | |
| "My Own" | |
| "Cheating on Me" |
References[edit]
Notes[edit]
A ^ Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts. For Ultratip peaks, add 50 positions to arrive at an equivalent Ultratop position.
Sources[edit]
- ^ "Kwabs - Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ Lester, Paul (4 February 2014). "Kwabs (No 1,692)". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ a b Lucy Brisbane (12 September 2014). "Interview with Southwark singer Kwabs: 'I always knew I deserved better'". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
- ^ Spex.de: Kwabs: Soul, reloaded Archived 11 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine (in German)
- ^ Charlotte Krol (29 September 2014). "Kwabs – New Music This London talent has a voice that could shake the earth". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
- ^ a b c "Kwabs UK Charts". Official Charts Company.
- ^ a b Hung, Steffen. "Discographie Kwabs". Austrian Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
- ^ a b Hung, Steffen. "Discografie Kwabs". Belgium (Flanders) Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
- ^ a b Hung, Steffen. "Discographie Kwabs". German Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung). Archived from the original on 3 April 2015.
- ^ "Kwabs". Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Archived from the original on 20 August 2013.
- ^ a b Hung, Steffen. "Discografie Kwabs". Dutch Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
- ^ a b Hung, Steffen. "Discographie Kwabs". Swiss Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
- ^ Hung, Steffen. "Discographie Kwabs". Belgium (Wallonia) Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
- ^ Hung, Steffen. "Discography Kwabs". Norwegian Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
- ^ "British certifications – Kwabs". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 29 January 2023. Type Kwabs in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank". Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ "Gold & Platin". Archived from the original on 1 July 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ "Awards 2015". Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ Kenneally, Cerys (29 October 2021). "Kwabs makes his comeback on Regard's 'Signals' single". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
- ^ "Delta Goodrem's 'Wings' Spends Second Week on Top of Australian Chart". Noise11.com. 22 August 2015.
- ^ Hung, Steffen. "Discographie Kwabs". French Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
External links[edit]
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| National | |
| Artists | |
