Zayn on leaving one direction

Zayn Malik has confirmed that he WILL embark on a solo career in his first interview since leaving One Direction. The heartthrob quit the chart-topping boyband after five years on Wednesday to live the life of a ‘normal 22-year-old out of the spotlight.’He slammed reports of a rift between bandmates Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Liam Payne and Niall Horan, claiming they were now ‘in it for the longhaul’ and simultaneously hinted that fiancée Perrie Edwards ‘supported’ his decision.

Speaking to The Sun just six hours after saying that he wanted to be “out of the spotlight”, Zayn confirmed that his plan was to: “Be myself for a bit. Write and relax and chill.”

The musician added that he had never felt more in control in his life and was seen hitting the recording studio in London the very next day, with reports that he’s already working on his first solo release with Naughty Boy, a chart topping music producer.

Zayn previously claimed that he wanted to spend time being “normal” but later told the paper’s Dan Wootton that he stayed with the band for his fans: “You know, I did try to do something that I wasn’t happy doing for a while, for the sake of maybe other people’s happiness. And that was mainly the fans.” The split evidently came as a huge shock to the other 1D boys, as Harry was filmed breaking down in tears on stage on Wednesday’s night in Jakarta as they continued the On The Road Again tour without their fifth member. But Zayn insisted that there were no hard feelings with his bandmates, adding that rumours of a rift similar to that of Take That with Robbie Williams or The Spice Girls with Geri Halliwell, “couldn’t be more wrong.”

He said: “I feel it’s been a bit different to when other bands have broken up or when a member’s left or whatever. My band has been really supportive. They’ve been really cool about it. And they understand that it’s not real to me any more.”

Zayn’s decision to leave the band came after he was signed off the current tour with stress, in the aftermath of cheating rumours that surrounded viral pictures that saw him cuddling up to a young, blonde holidaymaker Lauren Richardson in Thailand last week. – Daily Mail.