It's the day no Directioner dared to think about. The day a member of One Direction decided to leave. Luckily for heartbroken Directioners everywhere, the band is continuing as a 4-piece. Let's have a round up of Zayn Malik's painful decision...
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Zayn Malik and Lauren Richardson
pictured on his trip to Thailand |
Last week, Zayn Malik quit the biggest boyband in the world. To the normal person this seems like a terrible decision. Right? The fame, the fortune. Who would want to give that up? Zayn's statement came weeks after he was pictured with his arm around Lauren Richardson on a trip in Thailand. This was around the same time his fiancée, Little Mix's Perrie Edwards, was pictured sans engagement ring. Zayn later made a statement to his fans saying "I'm sorry for what it looks like" while Perrie Edwards was reported saying her engagement ring was just at the cleaners. Um....? Basically all of this seemed a bit suspect to fans of the band.
It wasn't too long after that Malik announced he was stepping away from the band's world tour due to stress to spend some time with family back in the UK. If that wasn't enough, Malik soon announced his departure from the band altogether. He stated: "My life with One Direction has been more than I could ever have imagined. But, after five years, I feel like it is now the right time for me to leave the band. I'd like to apologize to the fans if I've let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart." For most fans this decision came out of nowhere and immediately caused social media backfire along with an enormous amount of vines of fans crying, yelling, or just being generally confused.
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One Direction's first performance as
a quartet last Wednesday in Jakarta |
He was cited saying he just wants to be a "normal 22-year old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight." Unfortunately for Zayn, once in the One Direction spotlight, always in the One Direction spotlight. The band announced their respect for Zayn's decision and assured fans they would continue on as a 4-piece for the rest of their world tour as well as into the recording of their fifth album. Some fans doubt this is possible but others are holding on to any glimmer of hope that One Direction will still go on strong.
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Zayn Malik and fiancée
Perrie Edwards |
As for Zayn's career, this is possibly the best thing he could have done considering the situation. It isn't that surprising for someone to become burnt out. Four tours and 5 albums in 5 years along with daily media appearances are a lot for one person to handle. Zayn has always been a ridiculously talented singer but among the stress and stigma that is generally associated with One Direction, separating his name from the band might have been a big step for his career. Before this, no one apart from 1D fans even knew Malik's name. He was generally viewed as the brooding one, the bad boy, or simply "not Harry Styles."
Let's face it, apart from the views of dazed fangirls, One Direction is NOT in their prime. I would argue they were in their prime around late 2011/early 2012 even before they became part of a US preteen pop franchise. After One Direction lost the X Factor, fans waited quite a long time for their first single. It was a slow start that took off with sudden explosive momentum. I predict that the new 4-piece 1D is going to have to make some major adjustments to their musical sound. Despite some opinions, Zayn Malik was a very integral part of One Direction and his departure is going to affect them in more ways than one.
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A picture of Zayn Malik and
Naughty Boy that caused
outrage among One Direction fans |
If Zayn's leaving wasn't causing enough controversy, he apparently has a new solo track. A week after Malik's departure from One Direction, songwriter and producer, Naughty Boy, tweeted out a soundcloud link to Zayn's new track. This sent some fans into a fit of anger as they felt Zayn was betraying One Direction and had already gotten over the separation. Discontent was also explicitly expressed towards Naughty Boy as most thought his releasing of the song was insensitive. It even sparked a bit of a Twitter feud between Naughty Boy and Louis Tomlinson, a remaining member of One Direction. The song has been recently removed.
Zayn and Perrie were spotted today boarding a jet along with Zayn's mother and sisters. Their relationship seems to be intact even though many fans have been blaming Perrie for Zayn's decision to leave.
What do you think of all of this Zayn Malik drama? Did he make the right decision? What about that new solo track? Comment!
ZAYN MALIK'S EXIT FROM ONE DIRECTION~AS TOLD BY MADS
Thanks for reading!
