Zayn Malik Opens Up About Leaving One Direction and Reveals the Title for His Upcoming Album

In his first solo on-camera interview since leaving One Direction last March, Zayn Malik sits down with Zane Lowe to discuss his childhood, his career, and his subsequent decision to leave the globally successful boy band all. In an Instagram post, Zane describes the interview, noting, "It always starts with the music. The music is great. So we went to an empty football stadium in Bradford and met a genuine young guy who found global super stardom and, in leaving the worlds most popular group, his own voice."

Zayn opens up to Zane about leaving One Direction with some unprecedented honesty. "I think I kind of always wanted to go, from like, the first year. I never really wanted to be there, like, in the band like I just gave it a go because it was there at the time and then when I realized the direction we were going in — mind the pun — um, with the music, I instantly realized it wasn’t for me because I couldn’t put any input in, you know, I couldn’t give my opinion on this or that because it didn’t fit the grain of what we were as a band and what we represented. That’s when it became frustrating for me." As for how his bandmates felt, Zayn says, "They didn't want me to leave."

Zayn also reveals that the title of his solo album will be Mind of Mine and will include about 17-18 songs. There is a song called "She" and a song called "Wrong" that was originally written as a rap that he collaborated on with Kehlani. The first single will be "Pillowtalk" which is set to drop tonight and already has a video. Listen to the full interview below courtesy of Beats 1 and look for Mind of Mine to arrive this spring.