Zayn Malik: Everything you need to know about the former One Direction star

His latest single 'What I Am' is out now

Zayn Malik
Author: Alex RossPublished 20th Mar 2024

Since their formation on The X Factor back in 2010, One Direction saw a huge amount of success with hits such as 'What Makes You Beautiful', 'Live While We're Young', 'Best Song Ever', 'Story of My Life' and 'Drag Me Down'.

Zayn Malik was a founding member of One Direction from 2010 until 2015 when he decided to leave the group, leaving Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson to continue without him. Here's everything you need to know about Zayn as part of 1D but also as a solo artist...

How old is Zayn?

He was born on 12th January 1993 in St Luke’s Hospital, Bradford, making him a Capricorn and the second-oldest member of One Direction behind Louis at 31-years-old.

Zayn Malik’s real name

Zayn’s name is actually spelt with an ‘i’ (Zain), and means “beautiful” in Arabic. He once said that ‘Zayn’ looked more original and adopted it as his stage name. His middle name is Javadd, often wrongly written as Javaad, Jawadd or Jawaad. This makes his real full name Zain Javadd Malik.

Where is he from?

He was brought up in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Other famous Bradfordians include magician Dynamo, Kimberley Walsh from Girls Aloud, Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson and Gareth Gates.

Zayn spoke out about growing up in Bradford in a letter to the Prime Minister in November 2022, calling for free school meals to be rolled out for every child in poverty across England. He wrote: 'I know what that shame feels like, have seen it first-hand, as growing up in Bradford, relied on Free School Meals.

'I personally experienced the stigma surrounding food insecurity. My hope is that in writing this letter we can all ensure that no child ever has to experience this hunger and stigma again as my experience is not unique; it is a struggle that many children in England are sadly going through right now.'

In March 2024, it was announced that Zayn will be the ambassador for Bradford's City of Culture year in 2025. Speaking about the role, he said: "Bradford is and always will be home to me.

"It’s a very special place and I’m happy to see it being recognised as the UK City of Culture for 2025. There are some exciting projects I am taking part in throughout the year that I can’t wait to share with you. Now we can celebrate this great city and the people who live and work here with the rest of the world.”

Zayn’s school life

Zayn attended Lower Fields Primary School as a youngster before moving on to Tong High School. At school, Zayn starred as one of the ultra-cool, leather clad T-Birds in a production of Grease. Much to his horror, footage of the performance is all over the Internet! D’oh!

His nickname at school was ‘Z’ (pronounced the UK way 'zed' rather than the American “zee”), and his three favourite subjects at school were English, art and drama.

Zayn’s family

Zayn was born to British Pakistani father Yaser and an English mother Tricia Malik (maiden name Brannan). He once admitted to being a bit of a handful for his parents when he was younger, telling Glamour: "I was a bit of a handful when I was a kid because I was quite hyperactive. Even in the house my mum used to put me in my pram because I was so full-on."

He has three sisters called Doniya, Waliyha and Safaa. Malik in Arabic means ‘king’ or ‘chieftain’, and the crown tattoo on Zayn’s chest represents that.

During his time on The X Factor, Zayn’s grandad sadly passed away. In tribute, he has his name Walter tattooed on his chest in Arabic.

Which football team does he support?

Despite living in Bradford, Zayn is a Manchester United fan – just like Louis and Harry. However, he was spotted wearing a Bradford football shirt in a now-deleted Instagram post in July 2022... Perhaps his allegiances have changed!

Zayn on The X Factor

Zayn originally applied to be on the 2009 series of The X Factor, but pulled out before auditions due to nerves. When he eventually did audition a year later in 2010, his audition wasn’t broadcast on the main show, but was shown retrospectively on spin-off The Xtra Factor after he progressed further into the competition.

Zayn’s X Factor audition number was #165616, and he’s since joked that he’d like to get it tattooed on his arm. On his first X Factor audition, he sang Mario’s ‘Let Me Love You’.

WATCH: Zayn Malik's X Factor audition

A very nervous Zayn almost walked off The X Factor at bootcamp as he couldn’t perfect his dance moves. Fortunately, the legendary Simon Cowell talked him round and he went on to wow the judges - later admitting that he never thought he’d make it to the finals of The X Factor. He claims he entered the show "just for the experience."

Zayn once said he thought that One Direction would be great guest judges on The X Factor. He told 110% Pop: "I'm sure we’d be very interesting to watch actually. We haven't been approached for that yet." Years later, his bandmate Louis Tomlinson appeared as a judge on the show that made them famous.

One Direction

Although Zayn, Louis, Harry, Liam and Niall didn’t win The X Factor, they went on to become one of the show’s most successful acts of all time. They released five albums: ‘Up All Night’ (2011), ‘Take Me Home’ (2012), ‘Midnight Memories’ (2013), ‘Four’ (2014) and ‘Made in the A.M.’ (2015).

Zayn’s favourite track on ‘Up All Night’ is the Kelly Clarkson penned ‘Tell Me A Lie’, and he has approximately five-and-a-half minutes of solos across the record. Asked to sum up 1D’s debut album ‘Up All Night’ in one word, Zayn once described it as “anthemic” and admitted he’s totally flabbergasted by the success of One Direction in America.

Zayn decided to leave the group in 2015, releasing a statement which read: ‘"My life with One Direction has been more than I could ever have imagined. But, after five years, I feel like it is now the right time for me to leave the band. I'd like to apologise to the fans if I've let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right."

The remaining members also announced a statement, reading: ‘We're really sad to see Zayn go, but we totally respect his decision and send him all our love for the future. The past five years have been beyond amazing, we've gone through so much together, so we will always be friends. The four of us will now continue.’

Despite initially saying that he was not leaving the group due to any falling out with other members, he told New York-based magazine The Fader in December 2015 that he was frustrated with his lack of musical input.

He said: “There was never any room for me to experiment creatively in the band. If I would sing a hook or a verse slightly R&B, or slightly myself, it would always be recorded 50 times until there was a straight version that was pop, so they could use that version."

Although other members of One Direction have never completely closed the door on a reunion, Zayn has been quite clear on a number of occasions, saying in 2018 that he "doesn’t speak" to his former bandmates.

The other members of One Direction celebrated their 10th anniversary with some messages to their fans, but Zayn didn't post anything around the anniversary in June 2020.

However, he did get fans excited when he uploaded not one but TWO videos of himself singing One Direction tracks. He shared a clip of him singing 'You and I' to Instagram in June 2022 and then in August he shared an acoustic version of 'Night Changes'.

Zayn as a solo artist

After leaving 1D, Zayn worked with producer Naughty Boy on solo music, before signing a solo deal with RCA Records in July 2015. He released single ‘Pillowtalk’ in January 2016 which went to Number 1 in the UK and the US, making him the British artist to debut at Number 1 in the US with a debut single. His debut album ‘Mind of Mine’ came out two months later in March 2016.

Releasing his autobiography ‘Zayn’ in November 2016, he released ‘I Don’t Wanna Live Forever’, a collaboration with Taylor Swift, in December 2016. The song appeared on the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack, and won Best Collaboration at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards and the 2017 MTV Millennial Awards.

Zayn was nominated for three BRIT Awards, British Single of the Year and British Video of the Year for 'Pillowtalk' and British Video of the Year for 'I Don't Wanna Live Forever' with Taylor Swift.

In 2018, he released his second album ‘Icarus Falls’, and also covered one of Elvis Presley's songs, uploading the audio of 'Can't Help Falling in Love (Cover)' to his YouTube channel.

After contributing a cover of ‘A Whole New World’ to the soundtrack of Disney’s 2019 live-action remake of Aladdin, Zayn’s next big release was his third album ‘Nobody Is Listening’ in January 2021, but was unfortunately dropped by his label in October 2021.

In 2023, Zayn signed a new deal with Mercury Records, with the label teasing his new music would drop very soon.

What is Zayn's latest single called?

Zayn has now released his new song 'What I Am', after teasing it on Instagram. Before the song's release, Zayn shared two short clips of the song, with videos, along with the artwork. He has now released the lyric video.

THIS VIDEO CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE

When is Zayn's fourth album out?

Zayn's next album will be released on 17th May 2024, and it is called 'Room Under The Stairs'. Zayn announced the news on Instagram along with the artwork. He previously described the album as 'raw'.

What is Zayn currently working on?

As well as his next album, Zayn is working on a new animated film called 10 Lives. The film is about a pampered and selfish cat, who takes for granted the lives he has been dealt. As well as writing music for the new film, Zayn plays the role of two twins, sings a duet with Bridgerton's Simone Ashley, (who plays the female lead), and he is the film's executive music producer and oversees the film's music.

Relationships

Zayn dated fellow X Factor star Rebecca Ferguson for four months, but the relationship ended in July 2011 when they "drifted apart". Rebecca is six years older than Zayn. He also dated Hollyoaks actress Stephanie Davis in 2011, and began dating Little Mix’s Perrie Edwards in December that year.

Perrie and Zayn were together for four years, becoming engaged in August 2013 but the relationship sadly ended in August 2015 when he reportedly broke up with her via text. Little Mix’s song ‘Shout Out To My Ex’ is thought to be about the break-up.

Zayn began dating model Gigi Hadid after his break-up with Perrie after she starred in the music video for ‘Pillowtalk’. They welcomed daughter Khai in September 2020, but split in October 2021 amid reports that Zayn was accused by Gigi’s mum Yolanda of “striking” her.

Net worth

Zayn is a multi-millionaire! As of November 2021, Zayn was worth an estimated £38 million, appearing in heat's Rich List. In the 2022 edition, Zayn was reported to be again worth £38 million.

Fun facts from his time in One Direction

He once admitted to fancying Megan Fox and had a secret man crush on Justin Timberlake.

His favourite book is Harry Potter.

Zayn can’t swim and is scared of open water (also known as Aquaphobia). Despite this he likes sharks – especially hammerheads!

His favourite band of all time is *NSYNC, and his favourite song of all time is ‘Thriller’ by Michael Jackson.

Zayn is also a huge Chris Brown fan and lists ‘All Back’ as one of his most-played songs, with his favourite album being ‘Graffiti’ by the singer.

One of Zayn’s most memorable mottos is, "Never live life in the fear of death, no matter how hard life gets, don’t lose hope."

Zayn is a Muslim and once tweeted, 'La ila ha ill lalla ho muhammed door rasoolalah', a common declaration of faith that means, There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah.

Zayn has a bizarre pre-gig superstition – he always brushes his teeth before getting on stage. He admitted to us that his habit "is a little bit weird."

Just like Harry Styles, Zayn is a cat lover, although his first pet was a Staffordshire Bull Terrier called Tyson! When he was younger, he also had two cats called Lily and Lolo, and his favourite animal is a lion.

Zayn once described Olly Murs as "like an older brother." Bless!

Zayn says he’s the neatest member of One Direction and jokingly described his bandmates as 'pigs'.

Zayn says that if he wasn’t in One Direction he’d like to be an English teacher.

Zayn loves drawing when he has the spare time.

One of his pet hates is people chewing loudly with their mouth open. We agree, Zayn!

Zayn’s first kiss was with a girl called Sophie Kirk when he was 10-years-old. He told heat: "She was a little bit taller than me, so I had to stand on a brick. She was one of triplets and I kind of dated all three of them."

If Zayn could have dinner with anyone dead or alive it would be Michael Jackson.

Take a look at One Direction through the years:

2010: One Direction were born on The X Factor

One Direction formed on The X Factor in 2010. Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik auditioned as individual contestants and were put together as a group by Simon Cowell and guest judge Nicole Scherzinger.

2010: One Direction finish in third place on The X Factor

Despite racking up an army of fans during their time on the show, One Direction didn't win The X Factor. Instead they finished in third place behind Rebecca Ferguson and winner Matt Cardle.

2011: One Direction release first single 'What Makes You Beautiful'

After landing a record deal following their appearance on The X Factor, One Direction released their first ever single 'What Makes You Beautiful' in September 2011.


The single, which hit the Number 1 spot in the UK charts, served as the lead single from their debut album 'Up All Night'.

2011: One Direction release their debut album 'Up All Night'

The 1D boys recorded their debut album in the UK, America and Sweden, releasing 'Up All Night' in November 2011 in the UK and Ireland.


The album featured lead single 'What Makes You Beautiful', as well as future singles, 'Gotta Be You' and 'One Thing'.

2011: One Direction return to The X Factor

After a successful year in the music industry, One Direction returned to the show that made them famous, to perform their single 'Gotta Be You'.

2011-2012: The Up All Night Tour

Following the success of their debut album, One Direction kicked off their The Up All Night Tour in Decmeber 2011, going on to play 54 dates across the UK, Ireland, Oceania and North America.


The tour was an instant success, with tickets for all dates selling out within a matter of minutes of going on sale. The tour was later turned into a DVD, titled Up All Night: The Live Tour.

2012: One Direction release second album 'Take Me Home'

One Direction didn't wait long before they released their second studio album! Titled 'Take Me Home', the boys dropped the album in November 2012, with it going on to top the charts in 35 countries!


'Take Me Home' featured singles such as 'Live While We're Young', 'Kiss You' and 'Little Things'.

2012: One Direction win their first ever BRIT Award

2012 was a great year for One Direction! The band picked up their first ever BRIT Award in the British Single category, for their debut single 'What Makes You Beautiful'.


The band beat the likes of Adele, Ed Sheeran, JLS and Olly Murs to pick up the gong, which became the first of seven for the band over the years.

2012: One Direction launch their own dolls

As if dominating the charts wasn't enough, the One Direction boys teamed up with Hasbro in 2012 to launch their very own range of plastic dolls.

2013: The Take Me Home Tour

After the worldwide success of their debut tour, One Direction went on their Take Me Home tour in 2013, playing at sold-out shows in countries like England, China, Australia and America.

2013: One Direction: This Is Us

Whilst touring the world with the Take Me Home tour in 2013, One Direction released a 3D-documentary film about the time on their road, titled One Direction: This Is Us.


The film, which showed clips of the boys on stage and behind the scenes, grossed $68 million worldwide.

2013: One Direction release their third album 'Midnight Memories'

Just weeks after finishing their massive Take Me Home tour, One Direction dropped their third studio album, titled 'Midnight Memories'.


The album flew straight to Number 1 in both the UK and the US, becoing the fastest selling album of 2013, despite being released just a few weeks before 2014.


The record featured the singles, 'Best Song Ever', 'Story of My Life', 'Midnight Memories', and 'You & I'.

2013: One Direction release charity single for Comic Relief

The One Direction boys did their bit for charity in 2013, mashing-up a medley of Blondie's 'One Way or Another' and The Undertones' 'Teenage Kicks'.


The track titled 'One Way Or Another (Teenage Kicks)' was released as the official Red Nose Day single in 2013, with then Prime Minister David Cameron even making a cameo appearance in the music video.

2013: One Direction land in Madame Tussauds

In 2013, One Direction become the first boy band to be created into waxworks for Madame Tussauds London since The Beatles' figures in 1964.


The waxworks were one of the museums most popular installments of the last decade, and we can see why!

2014: The Where We Are Tour

Following on from their mammoth 2013 tour, the 1D boys went back out on the road in 2014, this time with their Where We Are Tour.


Playing at sold-out dates across the world, the tour ran between April and October, with the boys performing at 69 shows in total.


The tour was the band's biggest to date, with over 3,439,560 million fans turning up to see their idols perform.

2014: One Direction release their fourth album

Released in November 2014, One Direction released their final album as a five-piece, titled 'Four'.


The album, which featured hits like 'Steal My Girl' and 'Stockholm Syndrome', debuted at Number 1 in a massive 18 countries!

2015: One Direction kick off their On The Road Again Tour

In February 2015, Harry, Zayn, Liam, Louis and Niall kicked off their fourth tour, titled On The Road Again. The tour, which turned out to be their last as a band, grossed $208 million from 80 shows.

2015: Zayn announces he's leaving

Zayn Malik broke the hearts of many One Direction fans in March 2015, announcing he was leaving the popular group.


One Direction said in a statement at the time, "After five incredible years Zayn Malik has decided to leave On Direction. Niall, Harry, Liam and Louis will continue as a four-piece and look forward to the forthcoming concerts of their world tour and recording their fifth album, due to be released later this year."

2015: One Direction continues as a group of four

Harry, Louis, Niall and Liam continued One Direction as a four-piece, finishing their On The Road Again tour in October 2015.

2015: One Direction release their final album

The One Direction boys dropped their first album as a four-piece in November 2015, titled 'Made In The A.M.'


The album, which turned out to be the band's last, featured singles like 'Drag Me Down', 'Perfect' and 'History', and went on to be the sixth best-selling album of 2015.

2015: One Direction announce their hiatus

Much to the heartbreak of fans across the world, One Direction announced they would be taking an extended hiatus, which would start in 2016.

2015: One Direction return to The X Factor for a final time

After confirming they were set to take a break, Harry, Louis, Liam and Niall performed at The X Factor final in December 2015, leaving fans in tears as they performed 'History'.


Simon Cowell thanked the band for their hard work over the years, expressing his admiration for the group.

2016: One Direction start their hiatus

Following their final televised performance on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve on 31st December 2015, the One Direction boys went their separate ways, all going on to release solo music.

2016: Louis Tomlinson becomes a dad

In January 2016, Louis announced the birth of his son Freddie Reign Tomlinson with his ex-girlfriend Brianne Jungwirth.


The singer uploaded this cute photo to his Instagram page and wrote on Twitter, 'I'm pleased to say my baby son was born yesterday :) He is healthy and pretty amazing :) I'm very happy!!'. (sic)

'I Don't Wanna Live Forever' with Zayn - 2017

This track was recorded for the soundtrack to 'Fifty Shades Darker', it was the most popular hit from the movie franchise.
Listen to 'I Don't Wanna Live Forever' on YouTube.

2016: Niall Horan releases his debut solo single 'This Town'

Niall delighted One Direction fans in September 2016 when he dropped his debut solo single 'This Town'. The track was the lead single from his debut album 'Flicker' which was released in 2017.


The singer went on to release hits such as 'Slow Hands' and 'Nice To Meet Ya', before dropping his second solo album, titled 'Heartbreak Weather' in March 2020.

2016: Louis Tomlinson teams up with Steve Aoki

Louis teamed up with American DJ Steve Aoki to release his debut solo single 'Just Hold On' in December 2016. Just days after the tragic death of his mum Johannah Deakin, Louis gave an emotional performance of the track on The X Factor.


The singer went on to release hits like 'Miss You', 'Back To You' and 'We Made It', before dropping his debut solo album 'Walls' in January 2020.

2017: One Direction win their seventh BRIT Award

Despite being on a hiatus, Liam and Louis attended the 2017 BRIT Awards to collect the band's seventh BRIT Award! The band picked up an award in the Best Video category for their single 'History'.

2017: Liam Payne becomes a dad

In March 2017, after one of the most secretive pregnancies ever, Liam announced he'd become a dad after his then girlfriend Cheryl Cole had given birth to a baby boy called Bear Grey Payne.


The couple sadly split in 2018, but both Liam and Cheryl continue to co-parent Bear.

2017: Harry Styles releases debut solo music

After much anticipation, in April 2017 Harry released his debut solo single 'Sign Of The Times', showing a complete different sound to One Direction.


The singer went on to release his self-titled debut album in the same year, before dropping his second album 'Fine Line' in 2019.


In May 2020, Harry excited fans by releasing the amazing music video for his latest single 'Watermelon Sugar'.

2017: Liam Payne kicks off his solo career

Following on from his 1D band mates, Liam dropped his debut solo single 'Strip That Down' in 2017, before going on to release hits like 'Get Low', 'For You' and 'Bedroom Floor'.


Despite making fans wait, Liam went on to drop his debut solo album 'LP1' in December 2019, before teaming up with Alesso for the single 'Midnight' in 2020.

2017: Harry Styles made his acting debut

After releasing his debut solo music, Harry also landed a role in Christopher Nolan's box office movie Dunkirk!


Harry played the role of a young solider called Alex, as hundreds of thousands of soldiers tried to evacuate from Dunkirk beach during the early stages of World War II.

2020: Zayn Malik announces he's going to become a dad

After years of dating on and off, in 2020 American model Gigi Hadid announced she was expecting her first child with former 1D singer Zayn Malik! They welcomed a baby girl called Khai in September 2020, before splitting in October 2021.

2020: One Direction reunion rumours

After years of working on their solo careers, rumours of a One Direction reunion really started to become more frequent in 2020, as the boys celebrate their 10th year anniversary.


Despite a number of the lads teasing the possibility of a 1D reunion, up until now, nothing has been confirmed.

2022: One Direction's 'Drag Me Down' music video reaches 1 billion views

In May 2022, One Direction's 'Drag Me Down' music video reached 1 billion views on YouTube. The song was originally released in 2015, it was the first music video to not feature former member Zayn Malik, who had left earlier that year.

2023: One Direction's 'What Makes You Beautiful' reaches 1 billion streams

'What Makes You Beautiful' was the debut song released by One Direction back in 2011 and in August it reached 1 billion streams. It has already surpassed 1 billion views for the music video on YouTube.

Read more:

One Direction: Read up on these interesting facts about the group

Louis Tomlinson facts: Get to know the former 1D star

Read up on these facts about Liam Payne

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