He left his fans bereft after walking away from One Direction in March last year, but Zayn Malik has admitted he ‘never wanted to be in the band.’ The 23-year-old hitmaker candidly spoke in his first on-camera interview since leaving the group, in a chat with Zane Lowe for Apple Music’s Beats 1Radio.
During the chat, the now solo singer said he knew it wasn’t right for him after just ‘one year.’
He told the esteemed DJ: ‘I just gave it a go because it was there at the time. I think I kinda always wanted to go. From the first year, I never really wanted to be there in the band. ‘When I realised the direction that we were going in, mind the pun, with the music, I instantly realised it wasn’t for me. How do you write a song from five people’s perspective?’
He adds: ‘I think the boys knew that in terms of the music, that wasn’t my cup of tea. When I was leaving the band, they didn’t want me to leave. But I’d already made up my mind at that point.’
Zayn speaks out ahead of the release of his first solo single, Pillowtalk – which is being released around the same time as One Direction embark on their indefinite hiatus.