On March 25, 2015, if you saw me on campus, you might have thought I was dealing with a traumatic life-changing event. I was. Sitting in ZSR, I got the news from a Facebook post: “After five incredible years, Zayn Malik has decided to leave One Direction.” In the post, Zayn told us that he was leaving because he wanted to be a “normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight.” If anyone had told me that exactly one year later on March 25, 2016, Zayn would be debuting an album at number one and be dating supermodel Gigi Hadid, I would have never believed them. “Private time out of the spotlight?!”
For the next few weeks, I went through all the stages of grief. Denial. Anger. A lot of anger. Bargaining. Depression. And finally, acceptance. I knew that Zayn was too good of a musician to step out of my life, and if he was going to produce more music then I had to listen to it! In his first solo interview with Beats 1 radio, he talked about the many ways that he was restricted creatively when in One Direction. He was so excited to be able to express himself in his own way with the new music he had been working on. This little preview got all of Zayn’s old and new fans (and me!) very anxious for new music!
When he announced that he would release his album "Mind of Mine" on March 25, I didn’t believe it and laughed so hard that I had to take a few puffs of my inhaler! Two weeks later, I’m still listening to it nonstop. I can’t believe how good it is.
"PILLOWTALK," the first single, was one of the best things that ever happened to me. A great way to start his solo career, the love song was probably inspired by his girlfriend, Gigi, and how they would “be in the bed all day.” Hearing "PILLOWTALK" on the radio for the first time was a reality check for me and confirmed my initial beliefs that this would be an amazing album.
Some of my other favorites from the album are "wRoNg," "TiO," "SHE DON’T LOVE ME," and "sHe." I hesitate to stop there because every track on the album is amazing! Zayn accurately describes the sound of his new music as “weird alternative R&B.” While most of the songs are personal and helped him through some of the things he was dealing with, everyone can relate to this sound and message that he hopes to portray.
Most critiques on "Mind of Mine" have been positive, but focus on the comparison to One Direction’s sound. While his old band focuses on an audience of younger girls, Zayn was hoping to target a more mature group of people. Parents of young “directioners” seem to be against the former member’s music due to the PG-13 content.
Since 2012, I have been a huge supporter of Harry, Zayn, Niall, Louis, and Liam. Just because they are not all still in the same band doesn’t mean I will renounce my love for any of them. I have already attended a One Direction concert sans Zayn and though it was emotional and different, I love them all the same. If you’re a One Direction fan, don’t be ashamed to jam out to Zayn every once in a while.
