Zayn Malik admitted One Direction members got tired of always being together when he left the group.
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The British singer was chosen to lead One Direction on British show The Band along with Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson, with the remaining four members taking an “indefinite hiatus” the following year.
In his first interview in six years, the 30-year-old star admitted leaving the band because he felt “something was going on” behind his back and he wanted to be the first to make solo music.
“I don’t want to go into too much detail, but there was a lot of politics. Some people did certain things, some people didn’t want to sign contracts, so I knew something was up, so I was just a little ahead of the trend… I was like, ‘I’m just gonna go.’ ‘From here, I think it is is over,” he shared on Wednesday (July 12, 23) on the Call Her Daddy podcast.
“I saw it coming and I selfishly wanted to be the first to release my own record. If I’m completely honest, I thought: “I’ll take the lead now.” »
He added: “Obviously there were underlying issues in our friendships as well. We’d been together every day for five years and, to be perfectly honest, we were fed up with each other. »
The Pillowtalk singer, who launched his solo career in 2016, noted that while the band members “were close” and “had a great time” together, One Direction was simply dead. “I look back on it now with a lot more joy than I would have when I just left,” he said.
Zayn Malik is gearing up for his solo comeback with the single “Love Like This,” out July 21.