Ben Abraham reflects on music journey, collaborations with Kesha and Ben Platt

A songwriter built by moving between lanes

Ben Abraham’s story is less about a single breakout moment than about the modern working life of a songwriter who keeps finding new rooms to enter. Born on May 12, 1985, in Melbourne, Australia, he has grown from a folk singer-songwriter into a collaborator whose name now sits beside some of pop and theater’s most visible artists.

That range matters because Abraham’s career has not depended on staying in one lane. He has written for major voices, toured with them, and kept his own releases active, creating the kind of layered career that defines many contemporary musicians today. The result is a profile built on craft, mobility, and relationships as much as on solo stardom.

The album that opened international doors

Abraham’s debut album, *Sirens*, first arrived as a self-released record in 2014. Two years later, Secretly Canadian reissued it, and that second life gave the project a wider audience and a more international profile. The reissue also featured appearances from Sara Bareilles and Gotye, names that signaled both credibility and reach.

That sequence says a lot about how careers are built in the streaming era. A self-released debut can establish the artistic foundation, but a later label reissue can extend the shelf life, expand distribution, and introduce the work to listeners who may never have found it the first time. For Abraham, *Sirens* became more than a first album. It became the platform from which the next phase of his career could launch.

The Kesha collaboration that reached the biggest audience

If one song best captures Abraham’s impact beyond his own catalog, it is Kesha’s “Praying,” which he co-wrote. The track won a Grammy Award and was certified RIAA double platinum, placing Abraham inside one of the most commercially and culturally visible pop records associated with his name.

That collaboration is also the clearest test of his claim that he hopes to “make a difference” through music. On the narrowest level, the difference is measurable: a Grammy, multi-platinum sales, and a song that reached a huge audience through one of pop music’s biggest platforms. More broadly, it shows how a songwriter’s influence can travel far beyond a front-facing artist brand. Abraham’s contribution was not a cameo. It was part of the writing that helped shape a major release with lasting traction.

Ben Platt and the art of building through other people’s projects

Abraham’s collaboration with Ben Platt shows another side of the same career strategy. He co-wrote songs on Platt’s debut solo album, *Sing to Me Instead*, then supported Platt on his 2019 North American headline tour. Those two credits matter because they show the songwriter moving between studio work and live performance, between the quiet labor of writing and the visible role of helping carry a tour.

That kind of versatility is increasingly central to how musicians sustain a career. One project can lead to another, and each role can reinforce the next. Writing for Platt tied Abraham to a debut solo moment, while the tour expanded that relationship into a broader live setting across North America. In practical terms, it is a career built on adaptability, not just identity.

Los Angeles, Atlantic Records, and a continuing release cycle

Abraham has also been based in Los Angeles, a move that fits the way many songwriters position themselves closer to larger creative networks and recording infrastructure. His official materials identify him as an Atlantic Records singer-songwriter and note more recent releases, including the album *Friendly Fire* and singles such as “A Passing Through” and “How Not To Be.”

That steady release pattern is important. It shows a musician who is not relying only on older successes or outside collaborations. He is keeping his own catalog active while continuing to work within the larger machinery of the industry. For a songwriter, that balance can be crucial: outside credits create scale, while solo releases preserve authorship and identity.

What “making a difference” looks like in his career

Abraham’s comment about wanting to make a difference through his art lands differently when measured against the work itself. He has not framed that ambition through a single charity campaign or overt political platform in the material at hand. Instead, the difference is visible in how his songs move, who performs them, and how widely they travel.

His contribution to “Praying” gave him a place in a song that became a major cultural and commercial event. His work with Ben Platt showed that he can help shape an artist’s first full statement and then support that music on the road. His own releases, from *Sirens* to *Friendly Fire*, show that he continues to build a body of work with its own voice. Taken together, those credits describe a songwriter whose influence comes from movement across formats, audiences, and roles, and whose career reflects how modern music is often built, one collaboration at a time.