One Direction’s Zayn Malik Is Distancing Himself From Former Band

One Direction caught a kick in the butt from Zayn Malik after his Twitter post stated he wanted to show us who he really is, and had the hashtags #realmusic and #RCA. One Direction wasn’t suitable anymore, so he left the group with the idea he would expand his music career.

Simon Cowell, the creator of The X Factor, brought the guys of the group together. It was unclear whether Malik would work with Cowell’s record label as a solo artist. But now that Malik revealed his new home, Cowell stated his best wishes for the former One Direction member via Twitter.

Time hinted at Malik’s new freedoms and possible future direction.

“As One Direction got more involved in the songwriting process for their albums, their music also got better. Malik wasn’t driving that change as much as his bandmates Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne were, at least in terms of the number of credits, but that doesn’t mean he won’t start now.”

Anyway, One Direction still has to release, and then go on tour to promote, their fifth album. Unless they recruit someone new, they are going to have to fill the major hole in Malik’s absence.

Seventeen put some fans hearts at ease when it reviewed a leaked snippet from the upcoming album.

“And the first clip of One Direction’s fifth album has leaked, giving us a muffled, 30-second peek into what the Zayn-less One Direction will sound like. And let’s just say: They’re going to put any doubts you had about the boys’ next album to rest!”

The clip is already gone. So if you wanted to judge for yourself, you’ll have to wait a bit. It’s hard to tell whether he was joking or not. But Liam Payne offered fans at a recent concert a description of the album sound and title. He claimed it would be rap, opera, and hip hop.

One Direction had to take some new directions in their bandmate’s absence. A new sound may be just what’s needed to satisfy One Direction fans who are going to compare this latest albums to the band’s last four. The new album will also prove to fans if they can survive as a quartet. If any other member decides to leave, the band will just have to change their name to All Directions.

One Direction is at a telling point in their career, and Zayn Malik may have initiated something bigger than he thought regarding One Direction’s future.

[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]