5 days ago
13
Zayn Malik "almost cried" as he paid tribute to One Direction 10 years after leaving the band. The 32-year-old singer was performing in Mexico on his Stairway To The Sky tour and opened the show on Tuesday night (Mar 25) with a rendition of One Direction's hit, Night Changes.
After the performance – which has been shared on social media – Malik said: "It's the first time I sang that song in 10 years.
"Thank you, that was f*****g amazing. I almost cried at one point. This is insane."
The performance fell on the 10th anniversary of the day Malik quit One Direction after five years in the group alongside Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and the late Liam Payne.
In a Facebook statement on Mar 25, 2015, the Pillow Talk hitmaker wrote: "My life with One Direction has been more than I could ever have imagined. But, after five years, I feel like it is now the right time for me to leave the band.
“I'd like to apologise to the fans if I've let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart. I am 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.”
He reunited with bandmates Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson at Liam Payne's funeral late last year.
After his friend's death aged 31 in October, he paid tribute to Payne in an emotional statement
He wrote on Instagram: "Liam, I have found myself talking out loud to you, hoping you can hear me, I can't help but think selfishly that there were so many more conversations for us to have in our lives.
"I never got to thank you for supporting me through some of the most difficult times in my life.
"When I was missing home as a 17-year-old kid you would always be there with a positive outlook and reassuring smile and let me know you were my friend and that I was loved.
"Even though you were younger than me you were always more sensible than me, you were headstrong, opinionated and gave no f**k about telling people when they were wrong.
"Even though we butted heads because of this a few times, I always secretly respected you for it."
Host Jack Whitehall pays tribute to Liam Payne during the Brit Awards 2025 in London on Mar 1, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Malik described Payne as "the most qualified" musically in One Direction, and insisted he "knew nothing in comparison".
He added: "I was a novice child with no experience and you were already a professional. I was always happy to know, no matter what happened on stage we could always rely on you to know which way to steer the ship next."
