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McNeely.............1D on the 1Decline
on the ecline
By Gracie McNeely
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Zayn uttered these words in the 2013 documentary about One Direction titled This Is Us. But he can say them no longer. Yes, it is true. The lean, talented, beautiful, and traitorous creature that is Zayn Malik announced his departure from the British boyband on March 25, 2015. After four years of bonding, recording, and touring with his four bandmates, Zayn has decided to call it quits before his five-year contract with One Direction is up. In an interview with Dan Wootton, he said, “I’m just going to chill man, I’m just going to be me for a while.” Aren’t those the eloquent words of Zayn Malik that we all cherish and love?
A picture of Zayn with his hand wrapped around his not-fiancé’s waist went viral just a couple days before and left fans wondering if Malik was cheating on his future bride, Perrie Edwards. He later angrily tweeted to his fans, “I’m 22 years old…I love a girl named Perrie Edwards. And there’s a lot of jealous fucks in this world I’m sorry for what it looks like x.” In the same interview with Wootton, he said he wants to be “a normal 22-year-old out of the spotlight,” just days before Naughty Boy uploaded Zayn’s first solo track on SoundCloud titled, “I Won’t Mind”. Naughty Boy tweeted the link, writing, “Let the music do the talking…you’ll thank us later ;)”. After thousands of angry responses from fans—and 1D member Louis Tomlinson—Naughty Boy took down the tweet and the link hours later.
Earlier this year, there was rumor that Zayn had been developing a drug problem, one which One Direction immediately shut down. Now, Zayn has said he needs more time to “really be me,” and even Simon Cowell, their producer and creator, said in an interview that Zayn “needs to get his head together.” Whether it actually is a drug problem or another own mental health problem, Zayn believes leaving One Direction is the best decision, and we can only hope that he is right.
For the past couple of weeks, Zayn has laid low as Harry, Louis, Liam, and Niall continue their world tour. Zayn’s new contract with Syco Music is set for 2016, and we should be expecting some solo tracks next year. His track “I Won’t Mind” (which can be found on YouTube) is a very chill and stripped-down tune—a nice change of pace from his usual 1D solos. The four other band members are already writing their fifth album for next year. It will be interesting to watch how One Direction and Zayn will be without each other.
