arch 25, 2015. Chaos. Confusion. Shock. Anger. Sadness. Grief. Outright hatred.
These are emotions that accurately describe how this day last year was received. Well, by One Direction fans, at least.
Last year, Zayn Malik announced his departure from the record-shattering boyband via Facebook post, and sent the One Direction fan community (or “fandom”) into a tailspin.
Some were happy that he was finally breaking free from the suffocating life as a worldwide pop star to live a life as “a normal 22-year-old”. Others, like me, were upset by the timing of the announcement or the informal way in which the news was broken to the die hard fans (the bombshell dropped in the middle of their fourth worldwide tour while he was taking personal time off). But the most popular response, by far, was anger. Most of the fans accused Zayn of lying to the fans or letting down the rest of the boys in the band. Many swore that they wouldn’t support any new music or projects he came out with, and stood steadfastly behind the remaining members of One Direction.
Over the course of the next year, an obvious change occurred. The four boys left behind (Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson) made the best of a potentially disastrous situation. Their stage performances became more enthusiastic and interactive. There seemed to be a more natural flow between all of them on stage, like a tension we didn’t even recognize before had dissolved. Louis claims that “[it] felt like we got on better as a band and we were more passionate for this than ever.”
Their fifth album, “Made in the A.M.,” dropped in November 2015, receiving praise from critics, fans and proclaimed haters alike. It featured a more mature, fuller sound that showcased each of the boys’ voices and writing abilities.
Zayn also moved on, taking part in interviews during which he said that he left the band due to creative differences and the stifling control of their management team, headed by Simon Cowell, the very man that brought them together. As he said:
“To me, it’s like I stood in front of a canvas for about five years, and someone said like, ‘You’re not allowed to paint on this canvas.’ I’ve got the paint, I’ve got the f--king brushes, and I can’t get it on there. Now someone removed the plastic and was like, ‘Alright, you can now paint.’”
Zayn’s departure was hardly unforeseeable, though. One could have picked up on Zayn’s discomfort from the first One Direction album, “Up All Night,” when his silky, R&B vocals were put through the wringer of bubblegum pop. While he added something new and unique to the pop sound, and donned a color-coordinated outfit for almost two years (along with the rest of the band), he was branded as the “mysterious” one because of his quiet nature.
Zayn says in an interview with L’Uomo Vogue that he earned the “brooding, bad boy” label because “to be honest, I mentally and physically distanced myself from what I was doing creatively because I didn’t want any part of it really. It didn’t feel like I was really being me”.
And although the band adopted a more mature sound and ditched the color-coordinated outfits, there were rumors of Zayn reaching out to artists such as Naughty Boy to collaborate on solo projects separate from the band. By the time the announcement rolled around, it was no secret that Zayn’s music and style tastes ran separately from the rest of the band’s. The fact that this announcement came in the middle of a break that Zayn took by himself from the tour was also a nod toward his discomfort. He had been missing from interviews and concert dates, and it was virtually unknown as to why.
A mere four days after “Made in the A.M.” dropped, a short clip of Zayn riding a motorcycle and talking about music that influenced him, backed by a seductive, layered beat, was released by the magazine Fader. At the end of the clip, it was revealed that the background music was actually from a song titled “Befour,” taken “from the forthcoming album by Zayn.”
March 25, 2016
It’s been kind of a rough year for One Direction fans. Zayn quit, the band announced they were taking a year-long hiatus and Louis has become a father. Today’s Twitter feed features a fandom that has been splintered into hundreds of different factions: people who still harbor anger toward Zayn, people who have abandoned One Direction altogether to support Zayn solely, people who are either upset or thrilled about the birth of Louis’ son, the fans of Niall (who haven’t had much to do since he went incognito in December) and many more that I’ll save for confusing conversations over the dinner table.
However, on March 25, we come together in our own, disfigured kind of way to celebrate or mourn the anniversary of Zayn’s departure from the band. Zayn celebrates in his own way by releasing his anticipated album, “Mind of Mine,” with RCA Records.
Already given a taste of the album’s sound and feel by way of singles such as “PILLOWTALK” and “iT’s YoU,” the record is Weeknd-esque -- smooth, cool, electronic-based, featuring lyrics that don’t dance around the sexuality of adult relationships, which many of One Direction’s songs have done and been about. Zayn claims that “I’m not censoring myself anymore” -- and it’s apparent; this "weird, alternative R&B" genre that Zayn embraces leaves any boyband perceptions you had about him in the rear view mirror.
In his recent interviews with Interview, The Fader, Billboard and L’Uomo Vogue, among others, he seems lighter and freer, and claims that he is much happier. Recruiting writers and collaborators into his makeshift recording studio and casting his model girlfriend, Gigi Hadid, in his music videos seems to be where he feels most at home. He claims that “for 10 years, this album has been in my brain, and it’s just been there, sat with me, needing to be out.”
I think it’s clear that “Mind of Mine” is a pure labor of passion and it shows through on the soulful production and honest, no-holds-barred lyrics. One Direction being more creatively and personally cohesive is more important and better than anything the hysterical fandom could have predicted a year ago. Zayn going solo is, objectively, one of the best things that could have happened for fans, the band and Zayn himself.
