Zayn Malik Releases 'Pillowtalk', His First Single Since Leaving One Direction

After much anticipation, former One Direction boybander Zayn Malik has finally dropped his first solo single, “Pillowtalk” .

The song is a downtempo electronic affair which sounds much more R&B than the pop/rock that the singer peddled during his years in One Direction. “Pillowtalk” is decidedly grown up, complete with plenty of x-rated words and adult imagery and themes. This isn’t another simple tune about broken hearts; it’s about love being both a paradise and a warzone. The song may be about similar situations, but Zayn is feeling—or expressing—things differently now.

Not only did Zayn unleash the single onto the world, but a full treatment came along with it. Artistic and beautiful, the video comes complete with flowers, a beautiful woman, and a healthy effects budget. The dripping, trippy visuals match the rock and roll energy of the song perfectly, with the viewer spending as much time with guitars being smashed as they do with Zayn crying black tears.

“Pillowtalk” is the first taste of Malik’s debut solo album, titled Mind of Mine. The singer revealed the name yesterday during an interview on Beats 1, the radio arm of the recently-launched Apple Music streaming service. The album is expected in March, and so far there has been no proper announcement about music from any of the other 1D members, though it is rumored that some of them have also expressed interest in going solo as well.

Malik made millions of young girls cry last year when he announced that he was leaving One Direction, effectively turning it into a foursome. Since then, the group has released another album, Made In The A.M. (which was their first not to hit number one in the U.S., as it was beaten by Justin Bieber), toured the world, and gone on hiatus for an indeterminate amount of time.

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Since departing the immensely popular boy band, Malik has been very vocal about his time with Harry, Nial, Liam, and Louis, though his comments have primarily been negative. He even went so far as to say that he “never really wanted to be in” the band, and that from the first year onward, he “wanted to leave”. It appears that the now-solo pop singer is trying to distance himself from the group that made him a star, possibly in an attempt to stand out and make his name more of a brand on it’s own.