The former One Direction singer tweeted the news, revealing that he left the boyband so he could "show you who I really am" and to make 'real music'.
— zaynmalik (@zaynmalik) July 29, 2015
Zayn Malik is working with Frank Ocean producer Malay on solo music
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He tweeted: "I guess I never explained why I left , it was for this moment to be given the opportunity to show you who i really am! #realmusic."
I guess I never explained why I left , it was for this moment to be given the opportunity to show you who i really am! #realmusic #RCA !!
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— zaynmalik (@zaynmalik) July 29, 2015
— zaynmalik (@zaynmalik) July 29, 2015
Here's how Twitter reacted to Zayn Malik's solo record deal and his "real music" mission
Malik left One Direction earlier this year and has since had a spat with former bandmate Louis Tomlinson on Twitter about his solo material.
Simon Cowell recently revealed that he would not sign Malik to his SyCo record company as he wanted to focus on One Direction and thought having both on the same label was unfair.
Watch One Direction's music video for 'Story of My Life' below:
Tasha is a freelance writer for with a particular interest in the representation of women in film and TV. After graduating with a Literature degree then journalism qualifications with News Associates a few years further back than she’d like to admit, Tasha began her freelance career. She’s worked as a writer, editor and commissioning editor for a number of publications including Digital Spy. She is also a theatre critic. LinkedIn
