Zayn Artistfacts

January 12, 1993
The name Zayn Malik means "beautiful king" in Arabic. He has a Pakistani father named Yaser and an English mother named Tricia who converted to Islam to marry. Both Zayn and his sister Safaa were raised in Bradford, West Yorkshire, as Muslims.
In the summer of 2010, 17-year-old Zayn traveled to Manchester to audition for the seventh season of the British televised singing competition The X Factor. His tryout song was Mario's 2004 hit, "Let Me Love You."

"My main influences in music came from my dad," Zayn told the BBC. "It was a lot of R&B, a lot of R. Kelly, a lot of Usher, a lot of Donell Jones, a lot of Prince. He used to play a lot of rap as well, 2Pac and Biggie. A lot of bop, a lot of reggae, Gregory Isaac and weird artists like Yellowman."
Zayn Malik joined One Direction in July 2010 during his time on The X Factor. He was originally eliminated from the competition as a solo artist but was brought back to form the five-piece boy band along with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson. The group finished in third place on the show but went on to become one of the most successful boy bands of all time.
Malik left One Direction on March 25, 2015, after five years with the band. He cited stress and anxiety as reasons for his departure.
With his debut solo album, Mind of Mine, Zayn became the first UK Male Solo artist to simultaneously chart at #1 on the UK and US albums charts in the first week of release. The album's lead single, "Pillowtalk," hit #1 in 68 countries around the world and has since been certified 5x platinum by the RIAA.
In his early days touring with One Direction, Zayn was profiled at airports. "The first time I came to America, I had three security checks before I got on the plane. First, they said that I'd been randomly selected, and then they said it was something to do with my name - it was flagging something on their system," he recalled to The Evening Standard.

When Zayn landed in the States, things didn't get any better. "It was like a movie," he said. "They kept me there for three hours, questioning me about all kinds of crazy stuff. I was 17, my first time in America, jet-lagged off the plane, confused. The same thing happened the next time too."
Malik still considers himself a Muslim but doesn't believe in several of the main tenets of the faith. "I was raised in the Islamic faith, so it will always be with me, and I identify a lot with the culture," he told British Vogue. "But I'm just me. I don't want to be defined by my religion or my cultural background."

"I don't believe you need to eat a certain meat that's been prayed over in a certain way," Zayn added. "I don't believe you need to read a prayer in a certain language five times a day."
In November 2022, Zayn Malik wrote an open letter to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, urging him to expand the free school meals program to all children living in poverty in England. Having himself grown up in poverty, Zayn knows firsthand the challenges these children face.
Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid first met at the 2015 Victoria's Secret Party. They started dating shortly after, and in September 2020, they welcomed their daughter, Khai.
Malik and Hadid broke up and got back together several times. In October 2021, they announced that they had split up again after Malik was accused of getting into a physical altercation with Hadid's mother, Yolanda Hadid. Malik denied the allegations but pleaded no contest to harassment charges. A Pennsylvania court sentenced him to 360 days of probation and completion of anger management and domestic violence education programs.

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