Striking out on his own, he signed with RCA Records and moved to Los Angeles, where he began working on his solo effort with Naughty Boy (Beyoncé, Sam Smith). Citing stress and a desire for a simpler life out of the spotlight, Malik later revealed that he simply wanted to make music that he could listen to and enjoy. In March 2015, while the band was on the On the Road Again Tour, Malik abruptly parted ways with One Direction a week after his final appearance with the group in Hong Kong. Their fourth album, Four, would turn out to be the last with Zayn. From 2011 to 2014, One Direction released an album each year, each one more successful than the last. Despite finishing in third place, their popularity exploded and would not slow their trajectory until the very end.Īfter the show, Cowell immediately signed them to his label, Syco Records, kicking off a craze that hadn't been seen since the turn of the millennium with the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. The quintet was later brought back as a group and Simon Cowell dubbed them One Direction. In 2010, he auditioned for The X Factor but was eliminated (along with his future One Direction bandmates, who also auditioned solo). His talents were eventually fostered at Tong High School, where he delved into performing arts and stage production, even starring as Danny Zuko in the school's production of Grease. Growing up as a mixed-race Pakistani-English Muslim in a post-industrial British town presented some difficulties, which resulted in a number of primary school changes. Paring things down in 2021, he took his experiences as a father and partner and translated that into the mature - but still reliably sexy - third set Nobody Is Listening.īorn Zain Javadd Malik on Januin the working-class town of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England, Zayn honed his vocal talents and stage command at a young age.
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For his sophomore LP, he expanded his scope on the sprawling 2018 double-album Icarus Falls, which boasted a handful of famous guests and over two-dozen tracks. More adult and risque than 1D's material, his work shifted focus to the bedroom, where his smooth vocals felt right at home. The first to embark on a solo career, he left the group in 2015 and issued his debut Mind of Mine a year later. English R&B crooner Zayn Malik broke into the international mainstream as one of the founding members of the boy-band-of-a-generation One Direction.