Zayn Malik pays heartwarming tribute to One Direction following exit

British-Pakistani singer left fans across the globe devastated following his decision to leave the world-famous band

Former One Direction member Zayn Malik paid tribute to the remaining members of the British-Irish band at the Asian Awards on Friday in a short, yet thoughtful speech.

Though the British-Pakistani singer said he is "not really a guy of many words," he managed to win over 1D fans all over the world when he spoke out publicly for the first time ever since his exit from the band.

ZAYN'S ACCEPTANCE SPEECH IS SO CUTE IM CRYING http://t.co/nMC1QHGovJ

— Jasmine (@sacredzjm) April 18, 2015

"I'd also like to take this moment to thank four of the best guys that I ever met whilst being in the band and doing all the amazing things that I did,” he said.

"Some of the things that we did will stay with me for the rest of my life. Here’s to the future,” he added.

Related: Zayn's twin steals ex-1D's thunder

The 22-year-old, sporting a new shaved hairstyle, was presented with the award for Outstanding Contribution to Music at the fifth annual Asian Awards, held at London's Grosvenor House Hotel.

PHOTO: THE TELEGRAPH

The awards celebrate excellence across the global Pan-Asian community.

Zayn left One Direction last month after returning to the UK from the boyband's tour having been "signed off with stress".

In a statement at the time of his departure, he said wanted to spend time as a "normal 22-year-old" away from the spotlight.

Following his exit, a solo song by Zayn leaked on the internet.

Zayn brought his mother as his date at the award ceremony. PHOTO: THE TELEGRAPH

After the awards, fans from the Subcontinent were also in a frenzy when Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan megastar posted a selfie with Zayn.

Related: Shah Rukh Khan parties with Zayn Malik at Asian Awards

Shah Rukh said that he had a major “fan moment” and thought that Zayn was “cool”.

At the awards ceremony, Zayn’s mom and sister were also spotted taking selfies with King Khan.

This article originally appeared on BBC News.