It seems as if One Direction only most recently lost one of their members, Zayn Malik, but all is clicking into reality very quickly. Malik has released his own work, a single, and notes that a new album will be arriving soon. The song, “PILLOWTALK”, is a bit of a contrast from the traditional 1D style, with a techno and electronic edge. To say simply, the song is sexual. Not only is this represented in the lyrics, but also with the accompanying video. Malik surely makes a statement about how he is far from pleasing a teenage audience.

Freshman Anli Butler, who is a fan of Malik and One Direction, stated, “It’s a really catchy song and fun to jam out to.”

In an interview with Billboard, Malik explained his inspiration for the song, “Mostly my idea. I wanted it to be representational of the art that I’m looking at at the minute, even just a perspective level, on the surface of it I wanted it be arty, and different and out-there. That was the whole feel for the video. We wanted a dream-feel to it.”

The video is strange and ‘trippy’ in that it has bright and deep colors, as well as a few interesting scenes. In comparison to other typical music released today, Malik does not cross as many boundaries as one would expect. A bit of nudity. A lot of kissing. An attractive model. These three things practically sum up the video and the image Malik is portraying. Gigi Hadid, lead actress in the video and a booming model in the industry, is in close contact with Malik throughout the video, but it is not confirmed on whether or not they are in a relationship. Malik’s last girlfriend and fiance was Perry Edwards, a successful singer in Little Mix. Their long relationship roughly ended months ago, leaving Malik in the dating market and single. 

Junior Sarah Schwantner has listened to the song and said, “I think the song is really different and I like hearing him just by himself, away from One Direction.”

Overall, with 43 million views, and growing, on YouTube, #2 on iTunes, and over 26 million listeners on Spotify, Malik has surely made an impact and fast. His album “Mind of Mine” is due to release in March of 2016.