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Niall Horan Avoids One Direction Drama, Zayn Malik Announces ‘Pure, Dirty, And Raw’ New Single

By Sandra Hajda
Published on: 00:37 PST, Jan 24, 2016

Niall Horan has found a great way to get away from the excitement, suspense, scandal and drama that surrounds One Direction these days — the sleep-loving Irishman, who revealed in an interview last year that he can power through a marathon 14-hour sleep session with ease (bandmate Harry Styles gave Niall an impressed handshake following the revelation in an interview with Capital FM), has escaped to Australia.

Niall touched down in Melbourne some time last week, according to the Daily Mail. Niall reportedly has cousins who live in Melbourne — it seems the blonde 1D-member is following through on the guys’ stated pledge that they will use the eighteen-month break from touring and recording to spend time with family.

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The sports-loving 1D-star was spotted at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday with 23-year-old Neighbours actress Olympia Valance, the sister of ex-Neighbours star Holly Valance. Niall has already been linked to Olympia, notably by the Mirror — has Selena Gomez’s 2015 hookup moved on from the pretty Mexican?

Niall also stopped in at a restaurant on Chapel Street, where he sampled Australian fare and met some local restaurateurs and chefs.

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In other One Direction news, Zayn Malik has announced his new single. The R&B-loving ex-One Direction star will release his new single, “Pillowtalk,” on January 29, and the shirtless cover-shot of the fit star is already doing the rounds on social media.

Zayn looks off-camera with a startled but slightly aroused and faintly guilty look in his eye. The shirtless crooner covers his mouth with his hand, adding to the impression that he has been “caught in the act” in some way, or that he is concealing a naughty secret. A handcuff-like feature around the heartthrob’s wrist also suggests that there may be something naughty going on, as does the title of the track, which is presumably a smooth R&B number (Malik told Fader and Billboard that he would have liked One Direction to experiment more with the R&B sound that was popular in his hometown of Bradford, and less with the indie rock that the other boys loved.)

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Zayn-lovers are eager to hear the track, and a graphic with a definition of the term “Pillowtalk” started doing the rounds on Twitter, enlightening young Zayn fans who might be out of the loop. Will the quiffed hunk scandalize the fans he gathered in the innocent “What Makes You Beautiful” One Direction era? Are we about to see a new side of Zayn that will drop the jaws of fangirls accustomed to hearing only PG-rated lyrics from his well-formed lips?

Zayn is also slated to appear on a TV interview with Graham Norton later this week, probably to promote “Pillowtalk.” Some outlets are also reporting that Zayn is planning to dish about ex-bandmates Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles.

1D manager Simon Cowell, who previously slammed the Bradford hunk for his critical comments about One Direction, has remarked that he is not concerned about what Zayn might say, and that he has moved on.

Zayn has described the new single as “pure, dirty and raw.”

Are you looking forward to Zayn Malik’s new single?

[Image via AP Photo/Chris Pizzello]

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