Zayn Malik reduced fans to tears when he performed his first solo gig earlier this week, nine years after leaving One Direction.
The 31 year old singer, who shares a daughter with supermodel Gigi Hadid, took to the stage at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire to a sea of fans just hours after he released his fourth studio album Room Under The Stairs. Dressed casually in a black top and what looked like a pair of matching leather trousers, Zayn appeared to be in his element as he sang live on his own for the first time, nearly a decade after leaving the hit pop group who were formed during X Factor in 2010.
Watching the singer perform, fans wasted no time in praising the star for his “masterpiece” album and admitted they could cry with pride over his sensational comeback. Jumping on X, also known as Twitter, one person wrote: “Zayn really smashed it tonight!!!!! The vocals! the visuals! the atmosphere!” Another said: “It was definitely the best night of my life. Thank you Zayn. Thank you for always growing and showing us that if we can dream about it we can have it. So so proud you smashed it.”
Zayn Malik reduced fans to tears when he performed his first solo gig earlier this week, nine years after leaving One Direction
A third person penned: “I’m so happy, I cannot put into words how proud I am of Zayn. he literally deserves it all. the show was amazing, it felt so short because we just wanted to stay there with him. the ambiance was amazing, love zquad so much! y’all are the best out there.” Meanwhile a fourth commented: “big thanks to AVA for this beautiful thought. I’ve watched your concert in London through my phone and I felt everything as if I was there. You were beyond amazing. You killed it. You’re back. Don’t ever doubt yourself. Sing your heart out. We will listen.”
Zayn left One Direction in 2015 as he realised the group did not want to sign new contracts
The tattoo clad performer quit One Direction in the middle of their 2015 world tour, citing “stress” as the reason for his decision. But last year, in his first interview in six years with Call Her Daddy podcast, he said he realised the band’s days were reaching an end when other members refused to sign new contracts. He said: “I knew something was happening, so I just got ahead of the curve. I was like, ‘I’m just going to get out of here, I think this is done’. I just seen it [coming] and I completely selfishly wanted to be the first person to go and make my own record. If I’m being completely honest with you, I was like, ‘I’m going to jump the gun here’.”
