The members of One Direction recently took some time from their busy touring schedule to speak with The Sun about Zayn Malik's departure from the group. The singer announced that he was leaving last month, devastating the 1D community of fans. Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Liam Payne reassured fans that they would not be leaving the group anytime soon.

"All four of us are 100 percent committed to staying in 1D," Tomlinson said, via Billboard.

The group performed a few times following Malik's split, and it sounds like they've regained some confidence.

"It's been a tough few weeks, probably the toughest since the band was formed five years ago," Payne added. "We're gutted that Zayn chose to leave, but now after a few performances as a four-piece, we're feeling confident and are determined to carry on stronger than ever."

Styles continued to tease a follow-up to last year's Four, which continues to be a force on the radio and the charts.

"It's very exciting to be working on our fifth album," the singer said. "It shows how incredible the fans have been. A huge thank you to them for everything they've done for us. All the love to them."

Fans were unhappy to hear Malik's solo track, "I Won't Mind," a few days after he wrote in a statement that he was "leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight."

One Direction manager Simon Cowell gave fans a big scare back in August when he guessed that the group only had a few more albums left in them. He has faith that they'll all go solo at some point.

"Bands don't stay together forever. I think they will make at least two more albums together and they are in the middle of one right now," he said.

The group kicks off a North American tour in September.

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