Zayn Malik comeback szn is here. Appearing on this week’s Call Her Daddy podcast, the former One Direction star gave his first interview in six years, opening up about many topics, including his decision to leave the famous boy band in 2015.
“I think I’ve known for a minute,” he tells host Alex Cooper. “Look I don’t want to go into too much detail, but there was a lot of politics going on, certain people were doing certain things, certain people didn’t want to sign contracts, so I knew something was happening.”
He goes on to admit that relationships were strained because there was no time away from each other. “There was obviously underlying issues, like within our friendships, too,” he says. “We’ve been together every day for five years, and we got sick of each other, if I’m being completely honest. So we were close.”
Malik also gave some details about the new music he has been teasing on his Instagram.
“I’m doing a record I don’t think people are really gonna expect, it’s a different sound for me,” he says. “And it’s got some more narrative going on, like real-life experiences and stuff. My daughter’s mentioned in there a couple of times.”
Earlier this week, he revealed the first track from the new record will be “Love Like This,” out July 21.
As for returning to the stage, Malik tells Cooper he still gets nervous thinking about getting up in front of his fans. “I’m still nervous now cause it’s been a few years [since] I’ve been on stage, but I have this energy too,” he explains. “I feel like I have something to give and I want to get on stage and be there again and feel that. That’s one thing I can say, my fan base has always been supportive in that manner
He says when he’s ready, he knows the fans will be there waiting for him. “They’re always just like, we’re here, we’ve got you. Like, when you’re ready we’ve got you,” he adds. “We’re gonna come and listen to your tunes. I gotta be super, super thankful for that and I’m super grateful. I feel that love for sure. I’m ready to prove these people right.”
Watch a clip below. The full Call Her Daddy interview with Zayn Malik can be seen on Spotify.