Zain Javadd "Zayn" Malik (born 12 January 1993) is an English singer-songwriter. He is perhaps best known for being a founding member of the British boy band One Direction, whom he performed with from their creation in 2010 until his eventual departure in 2015.
Upon leaving the group, Zayn began working on solo material, and released his debut album Mind of Mine in early 2016. Launched by the single "Pillowtalk", which went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, Zayn was the first member of One Direction to release solo material, followed by Harry Styles' debut album in 2017 and a handful of singles by Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, and Niall Horan.
In 2017, Zayn released a duet with Taylor Swift —titled "I Don't Wanna Live Forever"— which featured as the lead single of the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack. That same year, he also began work on his sophomore album, and filmed a role in Ocean's 8.
He released his second album Icarus Falls in 2018, which generated the popular single "Dusk Till Dawn" (featuring Sia).
From 2012 to 2015, Zayn dated Little Mix singer Perrie Edwards, and the two were engaged to be married for the majority of their relationship. He was later attached to American supermodel Gigi Hadid, who co-starred with him in his "Pillowtalk" video. The two had a daughter, born in September 2020.
Discography:
- Mind of Mine (2016)
- Icarus Falls (2018)
- Nobody is Listening (2021)
- Room Under the Stairs (2024)
- Konnakol (2026)
Selected Filmography:
- The X Factor (2010) as himself
- iCarly (2012) as himself
- One Direction: This Is Us (2013) as himself
- Where We Are – The Concert Film (2014) as himself
- Ocean's 8 (2018) as himself
- 10 Lives (2024) as Kirk and Cameron (voice roles)
So we'll piss off the tropers in the place that feels the tears:
- Alliterative Name: Mind of Mine.
- Darker and Edgier: Compared to his career with One Direction, which mainly consisted of Silly Love Songs and other teen-friendly themes, his first single "Pillowtalk" is a song about sex and includes swearing.
- Face on the Cover: The cover of Mind of Mine is a picture of him when he was a child.
- Hotter and Sexier: His debut single "Pillowtalk", which is having sex, compared to the Silly Love Songs he was known for in the band he was in.
- Intercourse with You:
- "Pillowtalk".
Climb on board
We'll go slow and high tempo
Light and dark
Hold me hard and mellow- "Dusk Till Dawn" as well, even declaring "Let's make love tonight" in the pre-chorus.
- Let's Duet: With Taylor Swift for "I Don't Wanna Live Forever".
- One-Word Title: "Pillowtalk".
- Precision F-Strike: The lyric "fucking in, fighting on" in "Pillowtalk" gave a shock to some One Direction fans, as well as separating Zayn's solo career from the fairly clean image the band had.
- Special Guest: Sia in "Dusk Till Dawn".