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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Susan Knox

Legendary boyband member unrecognisable in sweet throwback family snap

One of the biggest boyband stars to ever emerge from the UK has sparked debate with an iconic throwback snap as fans argue over whether or not he looks the same now.

Posing with his sister in the gorgeous picture, the singer looks world's away from his future self while growing up with his family in Bradford.

The cheeky chap in the snap would later go on to enjoy unprecedented success along with four other band members, achieving five number one singles and touring the world for almost a decade.

The British star in question is of course, none other than Zayn Malik.

In the striking throwback snap shared by his younger sister, Waliyha Malik, the siblings looked adorable as they cuddled up together on the couch for a family snap.

The British star in question is of course, none other than Zayn Malik (Instagram)
Zayn posed with his little sister (Instagram)

The former One Direction star, 30, first shot to fame on The X Factor in 2010 alongside bandmates, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson - each of which has now gone solo with soaring music careers.

Zayn recently sent One Direction fans into a frenzy as he sang Night Changes, seven years after leaving the band due to 'stress'.

The track is from the group's fourth studio album and the star's acapella version went down a storm after the singer shared it on Instagram.

Fans took to the comments to gush about Zayn's singing talents.

Zayn broke millions of hearts when he quit One Direction in 2015 (Getty Images North America)

One wrote: "Zayn singing 1d songs in 2022 is literally the best thing could ever happen."

After being assembled on the X Factor in 2010, Zayn, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles and Niall Horan achieved earned millions of fans around the world.

However, Zayn decided to quit in 2015.

In his first book, Zayn, released in 2016, the singer recalled his decision to leave One Direction.

He wrote: "I had been in a bad place for a while and I didn't see myself getting out of it unless I made a change.

Zayn said he needed to quit the band for his sake of his mental health (UK Press via Getty Images)

"My relationship with my [ex] fiancee Perrie [Edwards] was breaking down. To make matters worse, there were so many crazy stories flying around in the newspapers about us."

Zayn added that he 'just wanted to disappear for a while' before making the decision to quit the band at a One Direction concert in Hong Kong.

"I wasn't going to spend another minute doing something which made me ill and which I no longer believed in," he explained.

Zayn joined One Direction in 2010 (WireImage)

"I couldn't see that there was anything left for me to give or to gain from staying,' he recalled. "It wasn't worth it.

"The memory of that night is kind of a blur. I was in f******g bits, but I finally came to the realisation something I already knew deep down, and had known for a long time. I was leaving the band and going home."

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