It's been almost a year since 23-year-old Zayn Malik left the world-famous boy band One Direction. Reasons for his departure were recently revealed in an interview with The Fader, a popular music magazine. In said interview, Malik confessed that his "reality was shaped by other people's fantasies." While a part of One Direction, Malik was behind a lot of the song writing but was granted little to no credit. Management had already predetermined One Direction's image, so Zayn's desires to experiment with R&B (his genre of choice) were quickly shut down. Being linked to the boyband meant suppressing his individuality, which led to much unhappiness. So, in March 2015, he quit. Management's imposition wasn't the sole purpose for his egress. Apparently, Zayn felt like an outcast since The X Factor days.

After the split from One Direction, Zayn Malik is finally able to conduct his own story for the first time since auditioning for The X Factor at 17. By late July, he was already signed as a solo artist with well-known record label RCA, home to Chris Brown, a major influence of Zayn's, and America's sweetheart and ex-boy bander himself Justin Timberlake. Zayn's first solo record was with British producer Naughty Boy, but their partnership was shortened after an unfortunate public falling-out. Once in Los Angeles, Zayn was greeted with a good omen: James "Malay" Ho, a 37-year-old producer most well-known for his executive producing of Frank Ocean's debut album Channel Orange. Frank Ocean is a huge inspiration for Malik because Ocean's "confessional and artisanal R&B" is what he's going for.

Malay and Malik began their collaborations and kept things pretty low-key, choosing to stay away from all the congested L.A. studios. The duo opted for recording in more suitable locations such as hotel rooms and campsites. Zayn's done all the song writing himself, and with Malay's guidance, hopes to drop his debut album in March of this year. Recently, the world got a preview of Zayn's work with the release of his debut single and accompanied music video "Pillowtalk". Zayn once again wowed fans with his signature high note but this time with something a little extra. He's now free to use his own sound, so fans are able to hear everything he has to offer. No longer tied down by One Direction's management, Zayn is now able to unveil his true identity. Many have criticized him for his controversial lyrics and music video, but there's no need for the hate. Zayn's focus is no longer feeding a fanbase made up of preteens and young teenagers. With the release of "Pillowtalk", he's already become the first UK artist to reach the top Billboard 100 with a debut single. Also, after just a day of its release, the music video obtained millions of views and is still getting tons of praise. The music video is all sorts of psychedelic, keeping viewers highly entertained, and the addition of famous model Gigi Hadid as Zayn's love interest puts the cherry on top. From all the praise "Pillowtalk" is receiving, the hype for Malik's debut album has definitely intensified.

When Zayn Malik left One Direction, arguably one of the biggest bands in the world right now, many people were convinced it was the last of his career. There was much uncertainty of Malik's future, which involved a lot of talk about how maybe Malik had made the greatest blunder of his life. Because of this, some folks were actually rooting for his failure. Fortunately, Malik proved everyone wrong when he released "Pillowtalk". With the new single in hand and the upcoming release of his debut album, Zayn Malik undoubtedly shows a promising future.