It was a bit of a shock when Zayn Malik decided to up and leave in the middle of a world tour. That wasn’t very “bro-like” of him. Not to mention, it is his job. How do you just up and leave like that? It was shocking that he decided to quit One Direction so abruptly, but it wasn’t so shocking that he was the first to leave the band. The signs had been there for years.
If you think about it, Zayn’s departure was only a matter of time. His audition was the first time he outright said his heart wasn’t fully in it. If you watch it back on Youtube, you will hear him talk about how he didn’t even want to wake up to come. His mum forced him. He had been acting quite weird in the interviews that he gave recently. Silent on most occasions, and no longer funny and cute like in the early years of One Direction.
I went to see One Direction in October and November of last year when they came to Florida. At my concert there was no shortage of girls decked out in Zayn attire. I even saw one with the same shirt I purchased at Primark in London. Going across the pond for your One Direction gear, now that is dedication. But Zayn seemed less than enthused to be performing for the sold out stadium. In fact, most of the concert he spent with his back to the crowd. When he did turn around to face the fans his face was apathetic. It was evident he just was no longer interested.
Then came the Universal Orlando concert that drew out tens of thousands of fans hoping to just catch a glimpse of the boys. Many had waited several hours overnight in order to watch One Direction. At around 5am, a boat came out carrying only 4 boys. Zayn was sick, and they weren’t sure when he was coming. They performed on the Today show as a foursome for the first time. Thankfully, for those lucky enough Zayn did make it to the private performance the next day.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago when it was announced that Zayn would be leaving the OTRA Tour. This was the last and final straw. I knew, as I am sure many other Directioners did, that Zayn’s supposed temporary exit would be the beginning of a really strange time for One Direction.
It was announced on March 25, 2015 that Zayn would be leaving One Direction. This crushed legions of Directioners, but when you look back over the course of the last five years it is not all that surprising. He had been checked out of One Direction for a long while before he officially left the band.
I do feel bad for Zayn. It must be hard to grow up with millions of people literally chasing after you. Hopefully he gets the time he needs to rest and renew. If he comes back to One Direction or not, lets hope we are all blessed by that beautiful voice once again. Until then we still have Niall, Harry, Liam, and Louis who do a fine job at lighting up our lives.