The news of Zayn Malik's departure from One Direction rocked the Internet this week. The remaining 1D members broke their silence on the situation yesterday, and now Malik is speaking up about his decision in more detail than was provided in the Facebook statement Wednesday.
Speaking to UK newspaper The Sun, the 22-year-old said that his decision to quit was "crazy and wild and a bit mad. But at the same time I've never felt more in control in my life. I feel like I'm doing what's right -- right by myself and right by the boys, so I feel good."
Malik added that he carefully considered his decision and took his fans into account.
"I did try to do something that I wasn't happy doing for a while, for the sake of maybe other's people's happiness. And that was mainly the fans. I only ever tried to do it for the fans. I'm only upset [because] I feel like I may have let them down in some sort of way," the singer said. "That's the main thing that I don't want to happen. It's not that I've turned my back on them or anything. It's just that I can't do that anymore because it's not real to me."
As far as his relationship with Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Liam Payne, Malik promised that they are still friends and on good terms throughout all of this and denied that any sort of rift influenced his decision.
"They couldn't be more wrong," he said about the rumors. "My band has been really supportive. They've been cool about it. And they understand that, you know, it's not real to me anymore," he said.
His relationship with fiancee Perrie Edwards remains intact as well. Malik confirmed that their engagement is still on and called Edwards "always supportive" and "a good girl."
Malik also revealed that he is working with British producer Naughty Boy on his solo debut.
However, he was hesitant to answer whether he might one day return to the group, saying, "I really don't know if I can answer that. I don't know."
What he could answer with certainty, though, was that the rest of the guys will go on without him.
"They still want to do it for a while," Malik said of the four remaining members. "They'll carry on doing what they want to do and I think they're going to do okay for a while. I think they're going to be cool."
Although the band is fine with the decision, Malik's fans are heartbroken. To cope, they've been drowning their sorrows in 1D songs. One Direction streams on Spotify rose 769 percent in the United States on Wednesday after Malik made his announcement.
What do you think of the whole situation? Sound off in the comments section below!
© 2024 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
