Zabdiel de Jesus on Launching Solo Career After CNCO: ‘I’m Nervous But Excited’

Zabdiel de Jesús is a force to be reckoned with: He sings, he dances, he plays the guitar, he composes, and he produces. After forming part of Latin boy band CNCO for the past eight years, the Puerto Rican artist is officially launching his solo career. 

“There are many mixed emotions because obviously I have spent many years in the comfort of being in a group,” he tells Billboard. “Now, it’s a totally different reality. On one hand I am nervous and anxious but on the other hand I am very happy and excited. It’s going to be something really cool and I’m ready to move on.”

De Jesús, whose artistic name will only be Zabdiel, is kicking off his new era with a debut single called “Aventura” via WK Records. On the track—a new sugary pop rendition of Toby Love’s 2006 bachata hit “Tengo un Amor—Zabdiel is joined by Spanish pop star Ana Mena. 

“I have loved this song since I was a very young child. In Puerto Rico, they played it all the time,” he explains. “It was pretty random because I met one of the guys who worked on the original song and he encouraged me to do a new version. We also wanted to add a female voice to the track and we came up with Ana Mena, who I had already worked with when I was in CNCO. She loved it and she jumped on. The tone of her voice was the icing on the cake.” 

As part of CNCO, Zabdiel has placed many titles in the Billboard charts, including No. 1’s in Top Latin Albums, Latin Airplay, Latin Pop Albums, and Latin Pop Airplay. Now, he’s starting with a clean slate. 

His short-term goals include releasing more music, connecting with other artists, performing solo concerts, and networking with more producers to excel his craft behind the scenes. He’s pumped to kick off his solo career but with the support of a powerful work team.

“I learned a lot of things in CNCO. That was our school and how we discovered the music industry,” he shares. “Really, I could give you a long list [of life lessons] but one that comes to mind is that you can’t do everything by yourself. You have to know how to work as a team. Knowing how to listen to others, knowing how to negotiate, that’s all very important. I take that with me and it is something that I am grateful to have learned in the process.” 

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