Zain Javadd "Zayn" Malik [1] (born January 12, 1993), also known mononymously as Zayn, is a former member of British-Irish band One Direction. He left the band on March 25, 2015, to pursue a solo music career. His debut solo album, Mind of Mine, was released on March 25, 2016.
Early life
Zayn was born in West Lane, Baildon, Bradford, England. He is of English and Pakistani descent. He was born to British-Pakistani father Yaser Malik and English mother Patricia. He has one older sister, Doniya, and two younger sisters, Waliyha and Safaa. He and his family are Muslim. Zayn grew up in East Bowling, located south of the Bradford city centre. He was a student at Lower Fields Primary School in East Bowling and went to Tong High School, a state comprehensive school.
Zayn's mother, Trisha, told the BBC in 2013 about her son's religious upbringing, stating “I made sure the children went to the mosque. Zayn has read the Quran three times.” When Zayn was growing up, Trisha worked as a halal chef at a primary school, cooking meals for Muslim children.[2]
Musical Career
- See also: One Direction history
One Direction
In 2010, when he was 17 years old, Zayn auditioned in Manchester for the seventh series of The X Factor. He revealed in the film This Is Us and in his 2015 Fader magazine interview that he would not have gone to his audition if his mother hadn't dragged him out of bed that morning. He stated he went to the audition because he "felt like I owed her".
Zayn sang "Let Me Love You", a 2004 hit by R&B singer Mario. All three judges — Simon, Louis, and Nicole — gave him a 'yes'. His audition was initially not broadcast, but was later shown briefly on The Xtra Factor.
Zayn was noted for becoming nervous and withdrawn in bootcamp, and famously refused to participate in a dance segment until personally encouraged by Simon Cowell. He passed the dance stage but failed to proceed past bootcamp, where he was initially eliminated as a solo artist, but brought back to be added to the group that would become One Direction. Following their placing third on The X Factor, One Direction signed a record contract with Sony Music subsidiary Syco Music, releasing 4 #1 albums with Zayn (and 1 without), and completing 4 world tours in 4 years.
Departure
On March 25, 2015, One Direction's official Facebook account announced in a statement that Malik had permanently departed from the band, citing his desire to live life away from the spotlight. Additionally, in an interview with The Sun[3], he further explained that he "didn't feel like himself anymore" and that he had been unhappy for a while, having only continued because of the fans. His former bandmates echoed his words in their October/November promo campaign for Made in the A.M., stating he "fell out of love with the music" and they could tell he was increasingly unhappy being within the band. They also stated he did not enjoy liaising with the media, as he is shy and introverted. In January 2016, Zayn elaborated on his departure saying he never really wanted to be in a band, as he auditioned for X Factor as a solo artist, but stayed with 1D as long as he could. He credited the other band members with trying to give him R&B ad-libs in their songs so he would enjoy performing more, but it became more evident as time went on that he would eventually leave. Zayn also spoke out about strict management, saying the band was constantly told what to do, how to keep their appearances and how to sound, saying they were not free to write whatever they wanted. Zayn said there was no room for him to express himself musically the way he wanted to, because the band's sound was distinctly pop-rock rather than R&B. In November 2016, Zayn revealed to Evening Standard Magazine that he did not write the official exit statement posted to Facebook, saying "Like, look how it’s worded. I’m not a 35-year-old lawyer. I don’t write like that".
Solo Career
2015
Zayn was photographed in a recording studio two days after leaving One Direction. He officially signed with RCA Records on July 29, 2015. However, it was revealed upon the release of his first single,Pillowtalk, that his music was still owned by Simon Cowell's record label, SimCo, who were licensing Zayn's songs to RCA.
Zayn told Fader Magazine that reintroducing himself as a Muslim pop star with creative freedom was his main priority with the new album. Speaking about how the album will sound, Zayn stated "The album—I have a name for it in my head right now, but I don’t want to tell you what it is, all the songs are different genres. They don't really fit a specific type of music. They're not like, 'This is funk, this is soul, this is upbeat, this is dance tune.' Nothing is like that. I don't really know what my style is yet. I'm kind of just showing what my influences are. Depending on what the reaction is, then I'll go somewhere with that. If people like that I'm a bit more R&B, then I'll do more R&B on my next album. If they like the fact that there's reggae on there, I might do more reggae. It's just depending on what they want and what I feel comfortable with at the time. I might even have a rock tune on the album, but it's kind of like R&B-rock."
2016
Zayn confirmed via Twitter on January 23, 2016, that his debut single Pillowtalk would be released on January 29, 2016. The music video premiered on MTV later that night, and featured real life girlfriend Gigi Hadid. Zayn told The Sunday Times about the song stating “Everybody has sex, and it’s something people wanna hear about. It’s part of everybody’s life, a very BIG part of life! And you don’t wanna sweep it under the carpet". Pillowtalk was hugely successful, debuting at #1 on iTunes in 90 countries, and making Zayn only one of two male artists to debut at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2016. Zayn has not yet performed the song live. A spokesperson eventually clarified this is because Zayn does not like how Pillowtalk sounds live.
Zayn's debut solo album, Mind of Mine, was released March 25, 2016 - a year to the day he left One Direction. He became the first UK male artist to debut at #1 in the US and UK. Zayn subsequently released music videos for album tracks 'It's You' and 'BeFour', and released 'Like I Would' as the second official single, which he performed at the 2016 IHeartRadio awards. He performed at Wango Tango on May 14th in California. Zayn was scheduled to perform at the Capital FM Summertime Ball but cancelled at the last minute citing "the worst anxiety of my career". It was announced on May 17th that Zayn would perform in Dubai on October 11th, however this was also cancelled due to ongoing anxiety struggles[4]. Zayn confirmed 'Wrong' as his third single from Mind of Mine, though did not end up promoting it. In July, Zayn posed for music publications Dazed and Paper. He was also interviewed by Glamour magazine.
On July 14, 2016, electro-R&B duo Snakehips released ''Cruel'', which featured Zayn on vocals. On the same day, the Ghostbusters film soundtrack was released, featuring a track by Zayn titled "wHo". He was featured on Netflix's The Get Down soundtrack, on "You Can't Hide", released August 12, 2016. In the same month, men's magazine GQ released an exclusive new photoshoot and interview with Zayn[5]. On September 1st English rapper M.I.A. released a single called "Freedun", also featuring Zayn. M.I.A spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the collaboration, stating "We have the same publishers and they wanted me to demo some songs for Zayn. I really wanted to write a song for Zayn….We had a couple people in common. And that’s how it came about. I didn’t really approach him for my own record until later on. First, I thought I wanted to try writing a song for him. We’ve just been going back and forth on, you know, WhatsApp.”[6]
On November 20th, Zayn attended the 2016 American Music Awards, where he won New Artist of the Year. In the same month, Zayn was interviewed by Evening Standard.
On December 8th, Zayn surprise released a duet with Taylor Swift, titled "I Don't Wanna Live Forever", for the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack. He confirmed a music video would be released during a December 14th radio interview with SiriusXM's Hits 1. In the same interview, Zayn revealed he was working on his second album.
Fashion
On August 13, 2016 Zayn announced via Twitter that he would be teaming up with Giuseppe to launch a shoe line, titled GiuseppexZayn[7]. Giuseppe announced the line would be available in January 2017. On October 12th, iconic fashion designer Donatella Versace announced Zayn would serve as her new creative director for clothing line Versus Versace. Zayn's designs will be available in May 2017[8]. On December 22nd, Zayn placed at #32 on GQ's Best Dressed Men 2017[9].
Book
On September 13, 2016 Zayn announced plans to release an official autobiography, titled Zayn, on November 1st. Previews from the book appeared online in the weeks following the announcement. The official description stated: "ZAYN is going to tell and show all in this intimate and raw scrapbook of his life. Never-before-released photos give readers insight to ZAYN, no-holds-barred. Gorgeously designed with hundreds of full-colour photographs and Zayn’s notes, drawings, song lyrics, and personal stories, the book captures Zayn’s most private moments and his candid feelings on fame, success, music, and life[10]."
Personal Life
Family
Zayn's parents are Yaser and Trisha Malik. He has three sisters. Zayn credits his father's music taste as a big influence on his own singing and songwriting. In One Direction's film This Is Us, Zayn is shown buying a house for his entire family and he states this was the reason he wanted to be a successful entertainer, so he could give back to, and provide for, his family. His father was not featured in the film.
Pets
Zayn currently has three dogs, Boris, Rhino and Marley. An attack dog was mentioned in his November 2015 Fader interview, but has never been photographed. Ex-girlfriend Perrie Edwards kept the two dogs they bought together.
Relationships
Geneva Lane
Zayn dated fellow The X Factor (UK) contestant Geneva Lane briefly in 2010, when he was 17 and she was 20. They were photographed sharing a kiss on December 12 2010, after the grand finale episode, and Zayn confirmed the next day on Twitter that they were dating.[11] They officially split the following month, on January 21, 2011.
Rebecca Ferguson
In 2011, Zayn dated The X Factor (UK) season seven runner-up, Rebecca Ferguson for four months, when he was 18 and she was 23. Their relationship drew media attention because of the five year age gap. They met while they were on The X Factor, but Rebecca stated that "It took a while before we looked at each other in a different light. There was no one particular moment, it just evolved over time." After their July 2011 split, Rebecca stated, "Me and Zayn just grew apart. I wish him all the best." However, in an interview in October 2012, Zayn stated, "It shouldn't have happened. It was just a wrong idea from the start. It did end quite badly, so we don't talk any more. We're not in touch at all." Ferguson called the relationship "a mistake" in 2013, saying the age gap wasn't worth the controversy.
Perrie Edwards
Zayn dated, and was previously engaged to, Perrie Edwards of The X Factoreighth season winning group, Little Mix. They met when One Direction guest performed on the show in November 2011. In May 2012, paparazzi pictures of them kissing and riding a scooter together confirmed them as a couple. They were dogged by four separate cheating scandals involving Zayn, including one where photos of him asleep in bed were leaked online by the woman he allegedly had an affair with. On August 20, 2013, Zayn and Perrie confirmed they were engaged. After the fourth cheating scandal in February 2015, Zayn flew home to the UK and exited One Direction soon after. He and Perrie still appeared to be planning a marriage, with Perrie jokingly referring to herself as "Perrie Malik" in June 2015. However, on August 4 2015, it was confirmed Zayn and Perrie had officially split. Zayn called off the engagement, ending the relationship the month before. In his November 2015 interview with Fader Magazine, Zayn denied he broke up with Perrie via text message, stating “I have more respect for Perrie than to end anything over text message. I love her a lot, and I always will, and I would never end our relationship over four years like that. She knows that, I know that, and the public should know that as well. I don’t want to explain why or what I did, I just want the public to know I didn’t do that.”
Gigi Hadid
On November 23, 2015, media outlets began reporting Zayn was dating supermodel Gigi Hadid. They were photographed together for the first time a few days later.[12] Gigi appeared in Zayn's first solo music video for his songPillowtalk, where the two shared a kiss. In February 2016, Zayn officially confirmed Gigi was his girlfriend in a radio interview with Zach Sang.[13] In April, Vogue Italia released a Zayn and Gigi fashion spread photoshoot. On May 2, they attended the 2016 MET Gala together. On June 2, 2016, many media outlets, including People Magazine, reported Zayn and Gigi had split after seven months[14], however they are still currently together. In July, Zayn spoke to Elle UK about their relationship and compatibility. They attended the American Music Awards together in November.
Controversies
Leaked Video
In May 2014, a video recorded in April by former One Direction bandmate Louis, was leaked by The Daily Mail. The footage showed Zayn and Louis, alongside other members of their management team, smoking cannabis while being driven to a concert in Peru. The footage contained Zayn criticizing One Direction's official merchandise, stating that both the band and the fans were growing tired of it pandering to a much younger audience, devoid of any artistic creativity. Louis received media backlash for apparently using racial slurs. No member of the band has ever publicly commented on the incident, or the video, but Liam offered an apology on their behalf on Twitter, a few days after the video leaked. It was speculated in early 2015 that Zayn and Louis may be charged for using illegal drugs but nothing eventuated.
Cheating Allegations
Throughout Zayn's four year relationship with Perrie Edwards, numerous allegations of his infidelity were speculated on by the media. While nothing was ever directly confirmed, pictures of Zayn asleep in bed, taken by a waitress he reportedly slept with, were leaked onto the internet in 2013.[15] In March 2015, allegations resurfaced when paparazzi pictures of Zayn holding hands and cuddling a woman named Lauren Richardson were published, and the woman herself uploaded a picture of her in Zayn's arms. The reports caused Zayn to lash out on Twitter stating "I'm 22 years old... I love a girl named Perrie Edwards. And there's a lot of jealous f*cks in this world I'm sorry for what it looks like x"[16]. The next day, Zayn was signed off from One Direction's world tour and a week later he announced his exit from the band. In his November 2015 Fader interview, he said the incident did not lead to his decision to leave, stating "The two things never really coincided in my mind. Obviously, publicly, that’s the way it worked, because it worked well for the purpose."
Closeting/Publicity Relationship Rumors
As is the case for Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, many fans speculated that Zayn was in a relationship with fellow bandmate Liam Payne. Speculation began based on their behaviour towards one another, which appeared very personal and intimate. In numerous interviews, Zayn showed off a specific knowledge of Liam and his family, that the other band members did not. Liam is the only member Zayn has remained in contact with since leaving the band. When Zayn's engagement to Perrie was addressed in one particular interview, Liam stumbled over his words while saying "I don't think [the wedding] will happen...I think you'll...lose the rings...". Many speculate that because One Direction and Little Mix both shared the same management and both bands were created by Simon Cowell, that Zayn's relationship with Perrie was in fact built for publicity for each band, as well as a cover-up for Zayn's alleged relationship with Liam. Fans have noted how a scandal involving Perrie would usually make headlines just as One Direction were releasing something, and how Zayn would constantly be mentioned in Little Mix interviews. Fans and media alike have speculated the same about Zayn's relationship with Gigi Hadid, as Hadid is known to date male entertainers as they are establishing their careers.
Naughty Boy
Zayn had a brief working relationship with producer Naughty Boy (real name Shahid Khan) from early 2014 to mid 2015. While Naughty Boy is currently signed with Virgin EMI, he has ties to Syco Music and is friendly with Simon Cowell. Tension was reported to have risen between One Direction and Naughty Boy after they did not feature any songs produced by him on their album Four, after working with them throughout 2014. Zayn appeared close with Naughty Boy, purchasing custom made 'Zaughty' tracksuits with him in 2014. In March 2015, after Zayn exited One Direction, Naughty Boy posted a series of antagonizing tweets, making fun of One Direction's fans and claiming "Zaughty" had "won". Louis Tomlinson called him out, tweeting "Wow @NaughtyBoyMusic you're so inconsiderate pal , seriously how fucking old are you? Grow up! #masterofallwisdom"[17]. Naughty Boy responded by leaking a rough version of an unfinished solo Zayn song titled I Won't Mind. In May 2015, another Twitter fight between Tomlinson and Naughty Boy erupted, after Naughty Boy misinterpreted a humorous Instagram post by Liam, which stated he had found a replacement fifth member, as a diss against Zayn. Naughty posted a photo titled "Replace this" onto Twitter, which Louis promptly insulted. Naughty Boy responded by saying Louis couldn't sing and used autotune. The fight concluded when Zayn addressed Louis, tweeting "Remember when you had a life and stopped making bitchy comments about mine?".[18] These events were the catalyst for the fan-led campaign to make No Control an unofficial single. As of January 2017, Louis and Zayn are no longer feuding. In July 2015, after Naughty Boy leaked Zayn's cover of Rae Sremmurd's song No Type, along with a music video he secretly filmed in January 2015, Zayn cut all ties with Naughty Boy, tweeting "@NaughtyBoyMusic you fat joke stop pretending we're friends no one knows you."[19] Naughty Boy has since gone on to work with Beyonce on the hit single Runnin' and has taken shots at Zayn three times since, on Twitter, but Zayn has not responded.
Racism
Zayn is half Pakistani and a practising Muslim. As a result, he has been subjected to numerous racist attacks both from the public and the press.
In August 2012, Zayn deleted his Twitter account after receiving constant racist attacks and accusations of infidelity.[20] He remade his Twitter acount later, but received more attacks and death threats after tweeting #FreePalestine in 2014, during a particularly vicious string of attacks between Palestine and Israel.
In 2014, US talk show The Daily Show compared Zayn to a terrorist. Fan backlash caused the show to address the joke, claiming they did not know he was Muslim. They later made fun of the fanbase for defending him.[21]
In 2015, US personality Bill Maher also compared Zayn to a terrorist, and also made fun of the fanbase upon their immediate backlash against the comparison.[22] In November 2015, a Huffington Post article about terrorist group ISIS briefly mentioned Zayn as an example of a Western Muslim public figure. A photograph of Zayn was used in social media postings of the article, making it look as though his image was being used to illustrate an article about terrorists. Fans once again criticized the outlet and Huffington Post quickly deleted and apologized for the error.[23] Zayn's 2015 Fader interview addressed the racism he has faced, stating "As the band’s only person of color, and the West’s single most prominent Muslim celebrity, Zayn has faced misunderstanding to an unimaginable degree...after hearing Zayn talk about how normal he is, I can’t help but wonder how “normal” a Muslim person would have to be in order to appease all the world’s bigots—and whether, given the impossible degree of nonthreatening-ness that seems required, how someone in Zayn’s position could ever feel safe enough to say something like, “Yes, I do want to be influential.”[24] In October 2015, Zayn was photographed wearing a shirt that read "I Am Not A Terrorist...Please Don't Arrest Me" as part of a social campaign against anti-terror legislation.
In May 2016, US rapper Azealia Banks verbally attacked Zayn online with a series of racist and homophobic tweets, accusing him of stealing black culture and plagiarising her look and style for his Like I Would music video. She was suspended from Twitter and turned down from a music festival as a result[25]and later apologised for her comments[26].
Tattoos
His first tattoo is والتر, which is his grandfather's name, Walter, in Arabic, on his chest. He got the tattoo after his grandfather passed away while Zayn was competing on The X Factor. During an interview with Capital FM in September 2011, Zayn confirmed he had two additional tattoos.[27] He stated he had a Japanese symbol that means "born lucky" on his stomach (later covered by a heart), and a yin/yang symbol on his left wrist. Zayn said the crossed fingers on his forearm are a symbol of good luck. He tweeted that the inscription across his collarbone meant "be true to who you are".[28] The tattoo of a woman (rumored to be of Perrie Edwards) was completed during the American leg of the Take Me Home Tour, in Maryland. The snake and tiger tattoos were done in a hotel room during the Oceania leg of theTake Me Home Tour. In January 2016, Zayn told Zane Lowe he had two new tattoos, one of his debut album title (Mind Of Mine) on his left arm, and one on his leg of a man's silhouette. On March 11, 2016, Zayn debuted a new tattoo of a sparrow on his neck. On July 14, 2016, a Snapchat video showed Zayn displaying a new finger tattoo: a Star Wars lightsaber that glows in the dark. Paparazzi photos from September 2016 showed Zayn has covered his "Perrie" tattoo, though it is unknown what the new design is. In November 2016, Zayn revealed to Evening Standard Magazine that One Direction were not allowed to get tattoos, but he decided to anyway because "Once it's done, it's done". He spoke of management "going crazy" after he got the "Zap!" tattoo on his arm.
As of February 2017, Zayn has approximately 39 tattoos.
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