Bad boy Zayn Malik, the first defector from One Direction, announced that the first single from his highly anticipated solo album will drop Jan. 29.
Malik tweeted the news Sunday at 3:07 a.m., which Billboard quickly picked up. He posted a shirtless photo of himself displaying the title, "Pillowtalk," and release date. Presumably, the image is the single's art cover.
— zayn (@zaynmalik) January 24, 2016
Fans don't know what the song will sound like, but he's said he plans to shift from the boy-band pop sound of One Direction and more toward R&B.
"My fans are giving me sh-- every day," he told Billboard during an interview around Thanksgiving. "Like, 'Where the f--- is your music? You've been at it for months. Give us something.' "
After talking to Malik and his crew and apparently hearing a few advance cuts from the album, Billboard's Chris Martins says Malik's music has a critic-friendly, beat-oriented style, similar to those of Drake or The Weeknd.
"It doesn't feel like choreographed pop," said Peter Edge, RCA chairman/CEO.
Other tracks include "BeFour," "It's You" and "Wrong," all of which stick to that slick R&B style. Malik also seems to be distancing himself from his boy-band roots with his new look: tattoos, leather jackets and spikey hair, all of which reinforce his bad-boy persona.
Look out for the single next week and let the Malik madness begin.
