‘The X Factor’ UK: Zayn Malik will stay under Simon Cowell’s employ

At this point, One Direction fans have hopefully had a few days to digest the recent news that Zayn Malik is no longer with the group. The news that he left seemingly to pursue a solo career, while saying that he wanted privacy first and foremost, was a little bit hard to swallow for many and some fans have vocalized through social media that they feel betrayed. We were a little surprised that he said his reason for leaving One Direction (in the middle of a world tour no less) was for more privacy and to live a normal life, but quickly ended up back in the studio, but he needs to do what makes him happy and clearly music is deep in his soul.

What we have not really analyzed to this point is just what Zayn’s future connection to Simon Cowell and Syco Music is going to be. As a result of being on “The X Factor” years ago, the group formed an agreement with Cowell’s label to produce music with him. To date, this has led to One Direction becoming a global sensation, with them having fans everywhere from Switzerland to South Africa. Does that agreement stay now that he has left the band or does he need to find another label if he’s deciding to go solo? It certainly seems like he will be staying with Cowell. According to The Sun, Zayn will continue to work under the employ of Syco on future projects, and they will be timed out in a way to not interfere with anything that One Direction does.

Is this good news for him? Both yes and no, since it gives him some of what he wants, but you always have to wonder how much creative control really exists when you have a major record label involved like this. Then again, we have no clue what a Zayn album will sound like without the rest of the group. This gives him a platform, and keeping with Cowell means that a solo performance on “The X Factor” to promote a new album is far from impossible.

Ultimately, we’ll just have to see what the recording process holds here, but we anticipate an album release being many months away. Given that One Direction is currently on tour, he will probably still get an album out before they do.

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