Zayn Malik has finally spilled a bunch of tea in his first interview in six years, and I’m honestly just glad to see my One Direction fave back on our screens.
Malik, my first love. My first everything. So glad to have ya back. Okay I may be lying because Niall Horan might’ve had my heart for the most part, but there was definitely room for Malik.
The “PILLOWTALK” singer recently joined Alex Cooper on her infamous Call Her Daddy podcast, which has birthed many celeb gossip moments. Like that interview with Cole Sprouse featuring a ciggy behind the ear, and her chat with Hailey Bieber, who briefly touched on her relationship with hubby Justin Bieber and alleged beef with Selena Gomez.
In the interview with Cooper, the singer got candid about his time in One Direction, his cute bébé Khai, going solo, his X Factor audition and how life is currenting treating him.
With this being his first interview in six years, we had to gather all the best deets from the chat and chuck ’em into bite-sized pieces for your pleasure.
So without further ado, here’s all the banging tea from the Call Her Daddy interview.
A cheeky triple crush led him to his singing journey
When Cooper asked Malik about how he found his passion for the arts, Malik revealed that his singing journey began when he gained a crush for triplets who were in a choir.
“I just was like ‘I’m gonna be in choir just so I can hang around these girls’ and then it developed from there,” he said.
I honestly feel seen with this … NGL I learned how to play soccer ‘cos I kinda had a crush on this guy. Eight years on and we’re still kicking goals.
After Malik shared that story, he then said his love for music grew as he went to a performing arts high school. According to Malik, he was the only one who could sing after he auditioned for the school’s production of Grease. A music teacher the pushed him to go further with his talent.
“My music teacher recommended I get singing lessons and… then she said, ‘I think you should go on X Factor. I think you’ve got a good chance.'”
Feeling “overexposed” in One Direction
In case you didn’t know, Malik was a ‘yuge part in One Direction, AKA the biggest boyband in the 2010s. The members of 1D included Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Malik himself.
Malik revealed he felt “overexposed” when he was a part of the world’s biggest boyband. He also mentioned it was the reason behind why he keeps a private life now.
“That’s why I took the time that I have to, like, not even necessarily do interviews,” he said.
“I feel like we were so overexposed in the band that like, it takes a bit of time for you naturally to progress as a human and give something else that is interesting that you have to say.”
Most memorable One Direction fan moment
In a hilarious, but cooked, story, Malik revealed that the most memorable fan encounter happened in Sweden when a bunch of fans popped outta bins like Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street.
“I remember coming out of the studio once in Sweden when we were recording ‘What Makes You Beautiful’,” he began.
“A row of maybe five or six bins, like trash cans, outside of the studio and I came out and like every single one of the trash cans opens and there’s like three people inside of each trash [can] and they tried to grab me.
“I think I had a mini heart attack.”
Being labelled as ‘mysterious’ in One Direction
It’s no secret that Malik was definitely given the mysterious boy archetype during his 1D days, but in the interview he claims it was nothing like his real personality.
“I think it’s just a marketing scheme, you know. You got the Teletubbies, you got Spice Girls, you got whatever. It’s just a marketing scheme,” Malik claimed.
“So, I get it, but I don’t think you can define an entire person to one personality trait. We’re a little bit more complex than that.”
Tensions within One Direction
According to Malik, the boys of 1D started to get “sick of each other” after they’d “been together everyday for five years”.
“We were close, we done crazy things with each other that nobody else in the world will ever understand or have them experiences that we’ve shared with each other,” he said.
“I look back on it now in a much fonder light than I would’ve as I’ve just left. There were great experiences. I had great times with them but we just run our course.”
UGH, stop it. I’m sobbing.
Being the first member to leave One Direction
The world literally stopped when Malik announced he would be leaving 1D in 2015. I’m pretty sure if you dropped a pin in Queensland you would’ve heard it in New South Wales when he dropped the ‘yuge bomb.
In the interview, Malik admitted he “wanted to be the first person” to make a solo record. He also spilled some juicy tea about what pushed him to leave the beloved boyband.
“There was a lot of politics going on, certain people were doing certain things [and] certain people didn’t want to sign contracts so I knew something was happening so I just got ahead of the curve,” he said.
“I was like, ‘I’m going to jump the gun here for the first time’. I’m passive but when it comes to my music and my business, I’m serious about it and I’m competitive. I wanted to be the first to go and do my own thing.”
He then agreed with Cooper after she mentioned it would’ve been hard transitioning from a group career to a solo, noting it was a “different experience” being alone on stage.
“I started practising a lot more, singing a lot more. Making sure I could sing for three minutes,” Malik said.
His altercation with Yolanda Hadid
In the interview, Malik also opened up about being charged with four counts of harassment following an alleged fight with the grandmother of his child Yolanda Hadid, in which she accused him of “striking” and “shoving” her, as well as swearing at her.
Now, Zayn says he handled the situation “in the best way” he could.
“I knew what the situation was and I knew what happened, and the people involved know what happened, and that’s all that matters.
“I didn’t want to bring attention and I didn’t want to get [into] a negative back-and-forth with her [or] any sort of narrative for my daughter to eventually read.
“I believe I dealt with it in the best way and that’s all that needs to be said. It was a lot of negativity.”
His experience as a father
In 2021, Malik reportedly split from his longterm girlfriend Gigi Hadid after it was alleged that he “struck” the model’s mother, Yolana Hadid.
The exes share a two-year-old bébé named Khai. In his interview with Cooper, Malik reflected on being a “good example” to her.
“Since I’ve had my daughter, the main thing in my mind is trying to be a good example for her. Like in terms of I can do things and I can achieve things and I can overcome things,” Malik said.
“That’s why I’m even doing this interview. I used to get a lot of anxiety around having a conversation like this, and I want her to look at me and be like, ‘Yo, my dad’s doing this!'”
He also reflected on how Khai has impacted his life.
“I feel like we get to a certain point in adult life where everything is kind of vague and grey and boring, and she’s brought that colour back,” he said.
Ugh, that’s truly beautiful.
Prior to his interview, Malik has been working towards his new song “Love Like This” which will hit streaming platforms on July 21.
The post ‘Sick Of Each Other’: 7 Bombshells Zayn Malik Dropped In His First Interview In 6 Years appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
