After building a solo force out of Justin Timberlake following his departure from ‘NSync, the music manager Johnny Wright has set his sights on One Direction dropout Zayn Malik, offering him advice he feels will help fare just as well as his ‘Cry Me a River’ client.
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Malik announced he was to leave the group earlier this week and is now planning to release solo material under the Syco umbrella with help from the company’s boss Simon Cowell and Emeli Sande producer Naughty Boy.
Now, the 22-year-old will learn that he also has Wright’s support, given to him after the power player managed the likes of Janet Jackson, the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Ciara, the Jonas brothers and the aforementioned Justin.
I can’t really speak internally about the group, but from fans’ perspective it’s always sad when you invest yourself into a group and somebody leaves, but it’s not unheard-of: Kevin [Richardson] left Backstreet Boys and then came back and the group went on. One Direction have been on such a roll for the last few years, and I can understand: you’re 22 years old you’ve seen the world and played so many shows and you say, ‘Hey, I want to start living my life.’ As far as them moving forward, the band is the band and as long as it continues to put on great shows and put out great music, I think the fans will be okay with it.
My advice to him would be to always leave an open door with the band, so that there’s time for him to develop and find himself, but always leave that door open so that he can come back. As for how he might come back, if that’s what he wants to do, it all comes down to the kind of record he decides to make.
As much as people think there’s a blueprint for all this, there is not: It really comes down to what you as an artist want to do, what the music has to say and how you are going to present yourself. And if he goes solo, I’d say: make a great record, be humble and put in the work; keep your doors open, take the time you need and make sure that if you decide to come back that you’re coming back for the right reasons – not money or fame. And make a record that’s really about who you are as an artist. If that means you’re only gonna play small coffeehouses, be satisfied with that, because you reached the top of the mountain, and I can tell you a thousand kids I could talk to next week who would love one fraction of that.
I have an 11-year-old daughter that’s a fan of the band, and we talked about this. It’s a sad moment because it’s something she was heavily invested in, so she’s sad to see him go, but she’s a fan of the brand: One Direction. I think she probably wouldn’t want to see them add another member to replace him, but she’ll support the band just as she did before. She still loves him and she still loves them.
Do you agree?