On his solo career and love of music: ‘My entire life has changed in the last year. I’m still taking it all in. I’ve found so much out about myself. Mostly how in love with music I still was. The album is a build up of six years and never being able to express what I wanted to say. I had something to get off my chest.’
On his decision to leave One Direction: ‘At that time in my life I felt I had done everything I could do there and I just needed to change it up. It didn’t feel brave. I just don’t have it in me to feel fully secure in anything I do. I always strive towards something better. It’s why I think sometimes I come across the wrong way, a bit distant. I’m just stressed out trying to control how I’m perceived. I think about things a lot.’
On his relationship with his mum and sisters: ‘I enjoyed the womanly influence. I have a lot of respect for women because of them. They are so strong, powerful and do everything themselves…’
On his relationship with model Gigi Hadid: ‘She’s super intelligent, I think that’s why it works so well. And we do the same type of job so we get that with each other.’
On the negatives of social media: ‘As much as social networking is a big thing now, there’s something to be said about having something real, if I had a choice I would take the camera off everyone’s iPhone and make sure we didn’t have Twitter or Facebook. It affects art form. There’s something to be said about living in the moment. I try to keep my phone for calls.’
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There’s no denying that Zayn is booking these high-profile promotional slots. It remains to be seen, though, whether he can leverage this momentum towards the advancement of his solo career.
‘Pillow Talk’ – as one of the year’s top selling singles – was as epic a start as it gets. Yet, the uncertainty surrounding his live showings (even from himself) make one wonder what the future holds. Especially in an industry where touring is the primary means of both sustaining and making it rain.
‘Mind of Mine,‘ Malik’s debut album, is in stores now.