Zayn Malik: Why He Left One Direction
Zayn Malik recalls the exact moment he knew he was done with One Direction. During an appearance on Call Her Daddy yesterday (July 12), the singer-songwriter told the host “there was a lot of politics going on” within the group. Without naming anyone specifically, Zayn said “certain people” would do “certain things.”
Bandmates Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson and Malik formed the boy band in 2010. Zayn was the first to leave five years later because he realized something was wrong. When “certain people didn’t want to sign contracts,” he said he just “got ahead of the curve. I was like, ‘I’m just going to get out of here. I think this is done.'” He felt more than ready to begin a solo career. As the 30-year-old explained, he said, “I completely, selfishly wanted to be the first person to go and make my own record, if I’m being completely honest with you. I was like, ‘I’m going to jump the gun here for the first time.'”
The Good and The Bad of One Direction
Being the first interview he’s done in six years, Zayn, who shares 2-year-old daughter Khai with ex Gigi Hadid, says One Direction was too overexposed. He was branded as the mysterious one, but Zayn says he was just “chill,” but also dealt with anxiety. And though he would usually describe himself as “passive,” the “Pillowtalk” singer said he’s the opposite when it comes to his music. “I’m serious about it and I’m competitive, so I wanted to be the first to go and do my own thing,” he added. “That was the reason—and then there was obviously underlying issues, like within our friendships too.”
The musician admitted that after being together every day for five years, they all got sick of each other. However, Zayn looked back at how close they were and bonded over their crazy lives. He sees the past in “a much fonder light than I would’ve as I just left. There were great experiences, I had great times with them, but yeah, we just run our course.”
Zayn’s New Music
As we previously reported, Zayn has been teasing a new single, titled “Love Like This.” It drops on Friday, July 21 and is available for pre-save here. As a solo artist, Zayn has released three studio albums: Mind of Mine (2016), Icarus Falls (2018), and Nobody Is Listening (2021). Leading up to the “Love Like This” announcement, the musician had steadily been dropping teaser videos, revealing snippets of the track. Former bandmate Liam Payne commented: “this sounds big already.”
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