Touching on his time in the band, Zayn revealed that another motivation for leaving the group was the fact that he “wanted to be the first person” to make a solo record.“I completely, selfishly wanted to be the first person to go and make my own record, if I’m being completely honest with you,” he admitted to presenter Alex Cooper.
“I was like, ‘I’m gonna jump the gun here for the first time’. I’m a passive dude, but when it comes to my music and my business, I’m serious about it and I’m competitive. So I wanted to be the first to go and do my own thing.” Zayn was, indeed, the first member of One Direction to release solo material, debuting his first single Pillowtalk in 2016, followed by his album Mind Of Mind later that year.
He later released Icarus Falls in 2018 and Nobody Is Listening in 2021, and will unveil comeback single Love Like This later this month.“I’m still nervous now cause it’s been a few years [since] I’ve been on stage, but I have this energy too,” he revealed on the podcast.“I feel like I have something to give and I want to get on stage and be there again and feel that. That’s one thing I can say, my fan base has always been supportive in that manner.
“They’re always just like, we’re here, we’ve got you. Like, when you’re ready we’ve got you,” he added. “We’re gonna come and listen to your tunes. I gotta be super, super thankful for that and I’m super grateful. I feel that love for sure. I’m ready to prove these people right.”