You can’t drag them down

One Direction releases surprise first single after Zayn Malik’s departure

LONDON/ LOS ANGELE: Best-selling boy band One Direction released a surprise first single as a foursome on Friday, two days after former member Zayn Malik announced a new record deal as solo artist.

Drag Me Down follows November’s Night Changes, and is the first single the group, which came to prominence on British televised singing competition The X Factor in 2010, has put out since Malik said he was quitting the band in March.

Read: Zayn Malik left band for fiancee: Liam Payne

The foursome, featuring Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson, posted a video message on Twitter announcing the new single. “It’s the first song from the new album that we’ve been working very, very hard on,” Payne said in the video. In a separate post on his Twitter feed, Payne called the move “a bit of a surprise.”

The news came after Malik himself tweeted a picture on Wednesday of him signing papers at RCA Records. The 22-year-old singer said he’s ready to show the world who he really is. “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,” he wrote.

Read: One Direction releases first single post Malik's exit

Malik quit after five years with One Direction, saying he wanted to “be a normal 22-year-old, who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight.” Since departing One Direction, Malik has been rumoured to be working on his solo music. Earlier this month, reports emerged, claiming that he was dropped from Simon Cowell’s Syco record label. 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 3^rd,  2015.

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