Zayn Malik: Former One Direction Heartthrob Turns 23

Zayn Malik - Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Zayn Malik! The former band member of One Direction turned 23 on Jan. 12 and in celebration of his big day, we’re taking a look back on Zayn’s EPIC year. Join us in reliving all of his greatest — and most shocking moments from the past 12 months!

It’s Zayn Malik’s special day! As he turns the big 2-3, let’s remember all that went down over the past year. He said goodbye to One Direction forever but hello to a promising solo career, he ended an engagement but started a new romance, and let’s not forget the crazy hairstyles he was seen sporting — we’re looking at you green hair. Celebrate his birthday with us and take a look at all that’s happened in his 22nd year!

Let’s get right to it and start with Zayn’s biggest news of 2015 — 1D fans everywhere completely lost their cool when it was announced in March that Zayn would be splitting from One Direction after five years of massive success. We remember the historic day like it was yesterday! After all, the Internet basically collapsed, as did thousands of devastated teenaged girls.

But have no fear, in hindsight his departure wasn’t ALL that bad! In his original statement he claimed he was leaving to become a “normal 22-year-old” and to “have some private time out of the spotlight,” which is now almost laughable as Zayn pursues a solo career that’s already generating massive buzz. In recent statements he’s gotten more candid, dissing One Direction and saying their music is uncool and not something he’d listen to. Ouch!


Zayn’s year certainly had a theme of reinvention and self-discovery as he also cut ties with his then fiancee and girlfriend of four years, Perrie Edwards, 22. Their breakup came after rumors surfaced of Zayn cheating on her with Lauren Richardson. But Zayn’s year wasn’t ALL rocky! In late July, just a week before Zayn’s breakup with Perrie became public, he signed as a solo artist to RCA. Zayn and fans were pretty psyched as RCA is home to celebs such as Chris Brown and Justin Timberlake.

However, not everything worked out for Zayn as a solo artist from the beginning. His first recording session was with Naughty Boy, a British producer with whom he had a public falling-out after a Rae Sremmurd cover they did together leaked in July. But now Zayn is feeling more focused than ever with producer James “Malay” Ho and his new album is scheduled to be released in early 2016. We can’t wait to hear what the self-proclaimed R&B artist comes up with!

And of course we knew this heartthrob wouldn’t stay single for long. In November, he reportedly started dating Gigi Hadid, 20, and the couple made it official in an adorable Instagram post soon after. Since then the two have even been spotted apartment hunting together in NYC! Do we hear wedding bells in 2016?

How Birthday Boy Zayn Malik's Life Dramatically Changed in a Year

After breaking up with a band, a fiancee, and even a producer, here’s hoping 23 will be Zayn’s best year yet — at least promise us, Zayn that you won’t dye your hair green again — yikes! If nothing else, Zayn’s new album is sure to be a hit and even if it flops, we know his new gf will have his back!

First, the obvious: July 22, 2015, was the fifth anniversary of impresario Simon Cowell striking gold by grouping Zayn, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson together on The X Factor in the U.K. But four months ahead of the momentous date, Zayn left the group. His stress level through the roof, his creativity stifled and his desire to keep up the rigorous pace required of One Direction gone, he announced his departure on March 25, 2015, apologizing to the brokenhearted fans and offering his full moral support to the rest of 1D, his "friends for life."

But while their exchanges since the split have been cordial and Zayn maintains to this day that there's no bad blood, per se, apparently no one is meeting for pints these days.

"I had every intention of remaining friends with everybody, but I guess certain phone numbers have changed and I haven't received calls from a lot of people," Zayn told Billboard recently. "I've reached out to a few of them and not got a reply. Certain people have pride issues, but it's stuff you overcome in time."

So, unlike the case on his 22nd birthday, Zayn is spending his 23rd as a solo artist, no longer a member of the most in-demand quintet in the world but free to explore his own musical interests. So far, we're still not entirely sure what those are, but his Twitter moniker "EDM Zayn Malik" seems to be a clue that he wants more bass in his life.
After leaving 1D he almost immediately dropped the solo demo "I Won't Mind," and then in June, he joined British rapper Mic Righteous on a cover of hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd​'s "No Type," a leak that wasn't without its controversy (for reasons having nothing to do with Zayn's pop star origins), but since then...

The tree hasn't borne any ripe fruit yet.

Zayn Malik - Singer

However, it wasn't until July that he left Cowell's imprint and signed with RCA Records, hashtagging his signing announcement with "#realmusic." So after it initially seemed as if the solo stuff would just come pouring out, perhaps the holdup has mainly been due to paperwork.
Or, he's just been busy. Also since leaving 1D, Zayn has become quite the sought-after cover boy, the velvet-eyed star no longer having to share the spotlight with four other guys. He's been on the cover of Interview, The Fader, Billboard and L'Uomo Vogue, all of which are predicting a huge 2016 for Zayn, and he looked damn fine on every single one of them.

He teased a song called "Befour" in The Fader, and told Billboard that his new album should be out this spring, with tracks including "She," "It's You" and "Wrong."

Fairly vague, not like the days of his meticulously planned schedule with 1D, but it's certainly nothing that mega-artists haven't put their fans through before. Right, Kanye?

And all of that change from then to now is just the business end!

Zayn has also become more of a social media renegade over the past year, scrubbing his page of 1D associations and getting himself into more Twitter spats on his own than he ever did as a group. He fired away at Calvin Harris after the DJ-producer sniped at Zayn's retweet of a critique of Taylor Swift (regarding her stance on streaming royalties), and he tangled with Naughty Boy after the producer shared a snippet of Zayn's "No Type" video, telling Naughty Boy to quit pretending that they were friends.

Also at this time one year ago, Zayn was still engaged to longtime girlfriend Perrie Edwards. Shortly before he left 1D for good, he had flown back to England early while the group was touring Southeast Asia amid tabloid reports that he was being a naughty boy. He slammed rumors that he had cheated and part of the reason for his leaving 1D altogether seemed to be to give the two of them a chance to work on their relationship.

Zayn Malik on Going Solo

Alas, they were split up by August. Not much has been said by either about what really happened (though Zayn did insist he didn't break up with her via text), but at least Perrie's star has risen since, with her U.K. girl group Little Mix climbing the charts in the U.S. with the single "Black Magic."

Not long after the breakup news broke he was linked to model Neelam Gill; then in September he was out partying with Rita Ora and weeks later a mystery blonde who posed for a cozy pic with the lad got tongues wagging (and Teen Wolf's Gage Golightly had to note for the record that it wasn't her in the pic).

But now real evidence points to Zayn dating Gigi Hadid, the handsome pair having been spotted strolling hand-in-hand and making suggestive cameos on each others' Instagram pages.

Amazing how life can change in a month, let alone a whole year. As he was ushering in 22, Zayn was—as we were to find out—a long-suffering member of One Direction, engaged to be married and gallivanting all over the world.
Fast-forward to today, his 23rd birthday, and he's... well, still awfully famous and dating a budding supermodel. He still has legions of fans willing to tweet to the death for him. And we're guessing he still makes a little residual One Direction dough.

But once that new music comes out, it's up to him to prove there's a reason aside from the cuteness and the charm to care. This is going to be the first full year in a while in which he's not going to be preceded by the title of member or ex-member of 1D.

This year, he's going to be Zayn Malik.

Zayn Malik's Birthday Gift - Perrie Edwards shares sexy bikini selfie

She's kick starting her year with a January getaway in the Maldives.

And Perrie Edwards already appears to be absolutely in the holiday zone as the stunning Little Mix star shared a gorgeous selfie on her Instagram page on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old looked to have completely forgotten the heartbreak of last year as she pouted in the sultry snap, while showing off her incredible figure in a racy swimsuit.

Utter bikini babe: Perrie Edwards looked gorgeous while flaunting her trim, toned figure in a crossover-style bikini while on her Maldives getaway on Tuesday, as her ex-fiance Zayn Malik turned 23

She happily showed off her slim physique in a black cool crossover-style bikini top, giving a hint at her chest and toned, trim waistline.

The two-piece swimming costume included high-waisted matching black briefs, fitting snugly to her slender hips while displaying her flat tummy.

The blonde, who added to her beachy look with a 90s-style choker around her neck, pouted into the camera while coyly keeping her gaze averted, while including the caption: 'Sun sun sun!'

She later changed into an off-shoulder white bikini top and bottoms as she went for a sexy run along the beach with her holiday companions.

Along with the photo, she joked: 'Not quite Baywatch.' 

Her snapshot was a perhaps meaningful one, as she shared it on Tuesday, her ex-fiance Zayn Malik's 23rd birthday, something her fans were quick to point out in the comments, some of them even mentioning the former One Direction star's Instagram handle in their responses.

'Not quite Baywatch!' Perrie later went for a jog along the beach with her holiday companions

Cheeky: Perrie showed off her pert posterior in a string bikini on Monday in the Maldives

User princessloreleeei wrote, 'It's your ex-fiancé's birthday hah,' while ohsaamantha added, 'love how she posted this on zayn a birthday.'  

'@zayn look what you missing out on boy,' wormisaur commented, along with sunnyhoran_ writing, 'It's zayn's birthday babe.'

The ex-boyband star's actions from last summer - he dumped Perrie after four years together, and reportedly via text message - have still not been forgiven or forgotten by the pop star's fans.

He, meanwhile, has moved on and is now in a developing romance with model Gigi Hadid. 

Happy birthday to him? Tuesday January 12 marked Zayn's 23rd birthday, something Perrie's fans were quick to point out 

Meanwhile, Perrie shared her first holiday snap on Monday as she prepared to soak up the sun at the idyllic island location.   

Resting one hand on the trunk of a tree, the singer had her back to the camera as she flaunted her stunning curves.

With her golden tresses cascading down her back, pretty Perrie appeared to be embracing the glorious weather as she enjoyed some time off her hectic schedule.

Donning a white string bikini, Perrie simply accompanied the snap with an emoji of a palm tree.

'Holiday crib': The Little Mix star gave fans a glimpse of her accommodation for her winter break to South Asia

'Farewell': On Saturday, the stunner hid behind a pair of reflective shades as she uploaded a selfie

The former X Factor champion also shared a shot of her picturesque accommodation for the duration of her winter getaway.

Edwards captioned the photograph, which showcased the bungalow, blue skies and sandy floor: 'Holiday crib'.

Before touching down in South Asia, Perrie shared a pre-holiday selfie as she hid behind a pair of reflective sunglasses.

Meanwhile Edwards recently thanked her Little Mix bandmates for helping her move on after being dumped by Zayn last summer.

Speaking to Fabulous magazine, Perrie revealed: 'My bond with Jade, Jesy and Leigh-Anne this year has become even stronger. 

'They’re the most incredibly supportive girls and I'm very grateful to have them.' 

'I'm very grateful to have them': Perrie recently thanked her Little Mix bandmates for helping her move on after being dumped by her ex fiancé Zayn Malik last summer.