Zayn Malik’s New Song ‘Like I Would’: Is It About Perrie Edwards?

Zayn Malik dropped the new single “Like I Would,” which features the British crooner singing about a lost love over a hypnotic dance beat.

The former One Direction dropped another single from his upcoming debut album, Mind of Mine, early Thursday, March 10. “Like I Would” is more upbeat and dancey than his debut “Pillowtalk” and the mellow buzz single “It’s You.” The song is a bonus track on the album, according to Rolling Stone.

On the song, Malik sings about his ex’s new boyfriend not being as good of a lover as he was. He repeatedly sings “He won’t love you like I would” over the pulsating and frantic beat that’s a lot more upbeat than the slow songs he’s released lately.

“He won’t touch you like I do / He won’t love you like I would / He don’t know your body / He don’t do you right / He won’t love you like I would, love you like I would.”

Now everyone is wondering if Zayn Malik’s new song is about his ex-fiancé Perrie Edwards. At the beginning of the song, Zayn is heard saying, “Hey, what’s up it’s been a while.” He then refers to the woman as “cold-hearted” while comparing her to her new boyfriend.

Malik and Edwards ended their relationship in late August after three years of dating and a two-year engagement. Rumors swirled that Malik dumped Edwards via text message, which he denied in his first-ever solo interview with the Fader.

“I love her [Perrie] a lot, and I always will, and I would never end our relationship over four years like that. She knows that, I know that, and the public should know that as well.”

He refused to go into the specific reasons for ending their engagement, adding, “I don’t want to explain why or what I did, I just want the public to now I didn’t do that.”

It was Zayn’s first public interview since departing from One Direction in March 2015. He left the boy band last year in the middle of a world tour in support of their 2014 album, Four. Zayn then announced his solo record deal with RCA in the summer. One Direction went on to release their first album without Zayn, Made In the A.M., last November and have gone on a hiatus to focus on their own solo careers.

So far, both of the singer’s new songs “Pillowtalk” and “It’s You” have been inspired by his former girlfriend. Malik recently explained the meaning behind his emotional ballad “It’s You” to Zane Lowe on Beats 1.

“I just felt like I needed to put myself out there on that just because it was a form of therapy for me and it did help me get through some s**t. So if it can help somebody else at that time, then that’s cool.”

While Zayn reportedly broke things off with Perrie, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t affected by their split. It’s likely that most of his album is about her. In the later part of 2015, he sparked romance rumors with a public relations assistant named Carlyn Bryan, and now he’s moved on with model Gigi Hadid.

Fans have been wondering if the two are still together, but the couple was recently spotted holding hands while leaving a hotel in Milan in late February. Zayn held Gigi’s hand as they climbed up the stairs. The hot new couple had a romantic dinner date as they opted for similar casual outfits.

But sources say that Hadid has fears of Malik cheating on her. She’s been worried that his fans have been throwing themselves at Malik as he embarks on his solo career. But it looks like the couple is still enjoying each other’s company despite their trust issues.

Zayn hasn’t done much promotion for his debut album, but he’s already doing well on the charts. “Pillowtalk” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, while “It’s You” peaked at No. 9 on the UK R&B chart.

What are your thoughts on Zayn Malik’s new single? Do you think it’s about Perrie Edwards? Sound off below in the comments section.

[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]