Zayn Malik is opening up about his perspective on One Direction’s split as a boy band.
During an appearance on Wednesday’s episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, the singer admitted that although he can appreciate the time he spent in the band now, at one point, all five members had gotten “sick of each other.”
“There was obviously underlying issues within our friendship too,” he said. “We had been together every day for five years.”
One Direction, which also included Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Liam Payne, was initially formed in 2010 by judges on The X Factor after each member auditioned for the singing competition show individually. Although they got third place on the show, the band went on to amass great success, releasing five studio albums and landing six top-10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 list.
Then, in 2015, Malik announced that he was leaving the band to pursue his own solo career as a musician. It was a decision that he is now revealing that he had “known for a minute” before leaving. The year after Malik’s departure, One Direction officially called it quits.
“I don’t wanna go into too much detail, but there was a lot of politics going on,” the singer told podcast host Alex Cooper. “Certain people were doing certain things, certain people didn’t wanna sign contracts, so I knew something was happening. So I just got ahead of the curve, if I’m being honest with you. I was like, ‘I’m just gonna get out of it. I think this is done.’ And I had just seen it.”
Since leaving the band, Malik has released three solo albums, including Mind of Mine (2016), Icarus Falls (2018) and Nobody is Listening (2021).
The singer also admitted that when he decided to leave One Direction, he “completely selfishly wanted to be the first person to go and make my own record, if I’m being completely honest with you.”
“I was like, ‘I’m gonna jump the gun here for the first time,” he continued. “I’m a passive dude, but when it comes to my music and my business, I’m serious about it and I’m competitive. So, I wanted to be the first to go and do my own thing.”
The other One Direction members have also gone on to release their own solo music, including Styles, whose latest album, Harry’s House, won album of the year at the 2023 Grammy Awards.
Now, more than a decade since one of the most infamous boy bands was created, Malik said he can look back and cherish the memories he made during that time in his life.
“I look back on it now in a much fonder light than I would’ve, you know, as I’d just left,” he added. “There were great experiences. I had great times with them — but yeah, we just run our course.”
