Zayn Malik is certainly going all-out with his press these days. Immediately following his headline-generating Billboard interview last week, Zayn covers the new issue of L’Uomo Vogue. The style of this editorial is much different – it’s high-fashion, yet Teen Beat-y, especially given the fact that Zayn is posing shirtless. Oh, Zayn. I don’t get it, but then sometimes I do. I think if I was 13 years old, I would be into this. Beyond that… nope. As for the interview, Zayn mostly talks about how his former bandmates ghosted him and how hurt he was/is.
On leaving One Direction: “The truth is I haven’t spoken to any of the boys at all really, I spoke to Liam a bit and that’s just the way it is. I did try to reach out to a couple of people and they didn’t get back to me, but then publicly, when they were asked questions about it, said that they’d spoken to me and that we were friends. But that’s not the case, I tried to reach out and be their friend but they haven’t even replied to any of my calls or texts.”
On his solo career: “I just want this album to be about me and me standing on my own two feet. I’ve sung with four other voices for over four years now so I want to hear myself, alone for once.”
Why he left: “Now that I can really be myself and make music that feels honest to me, it doesn’t feel like work. It really is relaxing to me. When I decided to leave, it wasn’t a big build up, it had always been underlying. I never felt like I belonged in the group, I was just doing it because at the time, I felt like it was the right place for me to be.”
Again, if I was 13 years old, I would be living and breathing this boy drama. But as an adult woman, I have to wonder… why is he positioning himself like this? It was clear that Zayn was totally over One Direction when he quit, and then he acted like a little brat for months afterwards. Now he’s trying to play it like he’s the victim somehow, that those guys ghosted him. While that might have happened, he was the one to quit. So start over. Make music. Be successful in your own right without having to discuss 1D over and over in interviews.
Photos courtesy of L’Uomo Vogue.
If he doesn’t talk about 1D he is not relevant. Can he even sing well enough to carry a whole album?
Anyway, I don’t think it is acting like a brat to say something isn’t working for you and leave. People do it everyday when they quit a job. It is just that his quitting ruins other peoples careers, people that he is saying clearly aren’t really his friends.
He and Harry shared lead singer on pretty much everything and I think he can actually sing – not that this even matters in the pop genre. He just needs to find a gimmick to sell. If I were him I would be go for a bad boy image. I mean Justin has bratty covered. Harry has ladies man/questionable sexuality. Nick has cute and nice locked down.
Nick beats them all in talent in my opinion (not that the others are untalented, though).
They all have pretty much average voices for pop and have clearly had a lot of coaching over the years. They r not in the same league as Gary Barlow, Robbie Williams and many many other male pop singers.
He has an okay voice, but Harry carried every single song. Harry is the voice of the group. He doesn’t have a strong enough voice or stage presence to carry a long term solo career. Think JC Chasez. He does have a good voice but he’s not prominent enough to have had the success that JT has.
But Betti, why compare a 2015/16 heartthrob with Robbie williams? It’s not even fair to them, nor to Robbie and Gary (I don’t know Gary). So why bring them up?
I’m not even a fan of either of these boys but it’s their time to shine in this generation.
Denisemich
Hes talking about it because they ask. And yes he can sing, he is usually regarded as the most talented vocalist in 1D ( Liam is probably the one that rivals him the most).
dani
I would not say Harry carried the group in any shape or form musically. He is just the biggest celebrity in the group. Liam was the one you could say carried the group vocally and musically. Zayn has the most potential vocally his voice is cleary much stronger than Harrys who is a very average singer. Zayns stage presence is not as good as Harrys though. Maybe because he seemed like he didn’t enjoy it at all. Liam and Louis wrote most of the songs.
Wouldn’t it be great if the blond Irish one became the biggest star? Just because it would be so unexepcted.
Neither one of them has the same entertaining quality Robbie has. Not even close.
Zayn has a great singing voice. He has a huge range, as evidenced by that crazy note he hits (and holds) at the end of Best Song Ever; Zayn just needs to learn to enunciate. And Harry does not sing lead on most of the songs. It’s usually Liam, Harry, or Zayn–pretty evenly split..
Mira
They don’t ask question unless the person interviewed is okay with this questions. If he wanted to stop talking about it, he could.
Neither Harry nor Zayn were/are leading 1D. It has always been Liam, he has the strongest vocals and musical chaps out all the boys. But he is unfortunately least famous.
…and it looks like Camila from Fifth Harmony (another X Factor creation) is poising herself up to follow in Zayn’s footsteps.
Yeah, he never struck me as bratty either, just tired and struggling to establish himself as many young adults do.
He was a teenage boy whisked away from his family and normalcy, and then worked like a plough horse for several years straight with his every public utterance policed by Simon Cowell’s ideas about the band’s brand.
Even if they built something rare, lucrative, and special, it isn’t hard to understand that may have been an exhausting and emotionally debilitating experience.
Bread and Circuses
Nice to see a comment that seems to see this from more than one side. I don’t get douchey vibes as much as uncomfortable and unhappy. I also don’t know how people don’t see how cowell was in control of their life and career when they are in 1d. Even his fiancees girl band was on the same management.
I think its a bit to superficial that people only assume he has to be a brat or douche because he left the band. As if this is the only reason a person leaves a band. We have all heard stories about previous boybanders from earlier generations felt their life was not their own anymore, everything was planned and controlled. Just because its lucrative i think people forget that these were young boys when they signed up for this. Theres no way they would know how it would impact their life positively and negatively at the time. Its a lot like those disney kids who need to rebel after being in disneys clutches for years. Its almost a rites a passage.
I never found him hot, but these pictures are even more awful than I expected. What is that face he’s pulling?
Just be quiet Zayn.
I can’t unsee that shirtless pic. Scarred.
Many BoyDramz, such douche.
Man, he’s petite. Also, the heart tattoo near the hip. Uugh.
So it really is a tattoo, then? I thought it was a sticker.
Yeah, I’m not sure who these images are supposed to appeal to. The little whaambulance routine about the 1Ds not returning his calls is a sad attempt to win back a few more 1D fans for his so-called adult career. So, really confident about getting those older-than-teen fans, then.
Also, does he have the same colorist as Rachel McAdams?
http://www.celebitchy.com/464664/rachel_mcadams_in_floral_lanvin_at_the_golden_globes_80s_wallpaper_or_pretty/
whaambulance – I love it!!
his hair colour is SO. AWFUL.
:O
He seems to be going for the Beiber demographic and I don’t think that’s wise. It just screams douche. He should style himself more polished. Keep his shirt on and be humble.
Excuse you… he’s finally being ZAYN. How DARE you suggest he not embody his true self so that he may gift the world with the music that speaks to his SOUL while exposing us to his questionable tattoos and blue-steel. That is ZAYN. He is FREE now. FREE. (end sarcasm)
I assume we’ll have a rollicking album about how much sex he’s having and all the “bad boy” things he does. He’s so edgy and real. Ugh.
You’re so right. He is a true rebel who just needs to express the real him. Our minds are going to be BLOWN.
He’s a legend in his own mind!
Haahahahaha. I for one am all a quiver with anticipation. I don’t know how I’ll be able to contain myself when his album drops. My body just isn’t ready for the phenom that is Zayn.
Whining little maggot. I don’t think he’s nice, or cool, or handled leaving the band with grace.
Sorry, over this one so bad.
All this boy band drama just makes me feel old. But in a good way, because I read that whole thing and thought “eh, who cares?”
What is that cover though??? It’s awful. The boy is a drama douche baby but he is, in fact, very pretty. Why f*ck it up like this? None of the tats or the styling (or the ciggie for that matter) do anything for him. Oh, child. I really want to know why his PR person is this incompetent. None of it is cute. Even with the baby drama and twitter tantrums over at the 1D camp, they come out of this looking so much better.
Can’t say that I blame him for leaving 1D, you don’t want to be pigeonholed into the whole boy band thing as you get older, the other guys are already starting to look a little ridiculous singing to the young girls, but it is time for him to put up or shut up
I don’t get why it necessarily people think its normal that they would ghost him just because he left sounds pretty childish to me. I mean they are not an authentic band they are a reality band that was put together by Simon Cowell. It isn’t as they are old friends they were on a reality show and it was mere coincidence that he ended up in that band.
All boy bands have an expiry date, someone sooner or later grows tired of it and wants out.
This is alot of talk for…..single? No. Album release date. No?
What then, Zayn……
Riiiight, play the victim card after an extended phase of acting like a rude, ungrateful sh*t head…someone must have taken a page out of Taylor Swift’s book on ‘How to Look Innocent When You’re A Raging, Phony A$$hole’.
* Sigh * OK, that feels better now.
Douche vibes.
When i was 13 i was into Nick Carter and Leonardo DiCaprio. Now that i look at their old pictures i cringe but Zayn is way worse. So try hard.
Then i moved to Johnny Depp and i cringe at his current pictures.
Lord this guy is a douche. You dumped your old life (your band, your fiancee) and now you’re mad that those people don’t want to talk to you or actively shade you? Get over it. You were a jerk and now you need the name to be in the press. Do I think he will make it solo? Probably not but anything could happen.
That’s not entirely true, 1D (especially Louis) and Perrie/LM shaded Zayn to promote themselves at Zayn’s expense. All Zayn did was leave them, as he was clearly unhappy and decided to put his health and well-being first. Would people prefer it if he suffered in silence? Zayn shouldn’t be vilified over this. It’s only natural that he would defend himself against certain false claims. The truth is that none of these people genuinely cared about Zayn, and he probably came to that realisation himself before deciding to quit the band and terminate his “engagement”. They didn’t (and still don’t) have his best interests at heart. I, for one, hope he has a successful solo career.
Oh Zayn the more you try to come across as independent and aware and Mr. Victim the more foolish you appear to be. 1D in interviews have gone out of their way NOT to drag you and try to take the high road and smooth this all out as best they could but you…you keep beating on them and their music and their fans and whine about not having any friends anymore. Think you are even more of a puppet now and you should really think about another PR group.
When a boyband breaks up usually only one member gets to have a career. Most of the time that will be whoever the band’s fans decide to follow. My guess is this is a play to change the narrative in the band’s fans eyes so that he is the poor, sweet victim and not an asshat.
He’s so small and thin, childlike -…no thanks
The guys who you ditched in the middle of a worldwide tour and whose album you dissed and one of whom you told to stay the fk out of your life do not want to talk to you …. shocking….!
I would believe him more if he hadn’t left / been kicked out in the middle of the tour. And something about him rubs me completely the wrong way…I get a real self-absorbed douchebag, if not addict in denial vibe from him…very punchable face. I recall when he left he wanted, he said, a normal life, but nothing he’s done since is normal. If he wanted to leave, fine, but the timing was suspect and this only increases it.
A lot of the details surrounding Zayn’s departure is shady, because personal drama occured between Zayn and the other fellas. It has been brewing for years. It got to a breaking point where Zayn couldn’t manage to even finish the tour, as he couldn’t bear to be in their presence. He removed himself from a toxic environment. 1D’s management wanted to cover up the details, and tried to make out that everything was hunky dory between Zayn and his former bandmates. Zayn was forced to go along with these false narratives including the wanting to be a “normal” 22 year old one. There is a lot left unsaid to protect 1D’s image.
The douche is strong with this one.
How much does he expect to get paid for this not-work he’s doing, anyway?