Simon Cowell on Zayn Malik's 1D exit: "I kind of knew it was coming"

Simon Cowell has admitted that he "kind of knew" Zayn Malik would leave One Direction.

Appearing on The Late Late Show with James Corden, the music mogul said that he had had conversations with Malik about his future with the group before.

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He explained: "I kind of knew this was coming if I'm honest with you. We'd had a few conversations and he wasn't happy.

"I was trying to say to him, 'You should stay around a bit longer', and then something in him said, 'No, I've had enough'. Once the decision was made I dealt with it, then obviously made sure the guys were okay as they were shocked as well.

"Once someone has made their mind up, they're going to go. At the same time I didn't want to push him too much, he's 22 and I could see he was stressed and needed some time off. I had to respect his decision.

"For the boys, it was interesting as they were in the middle of these live shows at the time," he added. "I watched the show back and I've got to hand it to them, they were incredible. They had to work everything out so quickly, and they were amazing."

Cowell also predicted a bright future for One Direction as a four-piece, and told Corden that he thinks their fifth studio album will be "the best record they've ever made".

Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan reassured One Direction fans about their future without Malik following the news of his departure.