By Xavier Evans
staff writer
March 25, 2016 became the day Zayn Malik proved that his departure from one of the largest boy bands in the world was not just a rash and senseless decision.
Zayn’s album “Mind of Mine” has become one of the biggest albums of 2016, nearly a year after Zayn left One Direction.
After news broke of his departure, many fans and critics doubted Zayn’s ability to succeed without his band mates. In July 2015, Zayn signed a record deal with RCA Records and seemed ready to begin his solo career.
With One Direction releasing their first album without Zayn in November 2015, the music world wondered what Zayn’s next move would be. During many interviews he announced that he would be releasing his own R&B album.
By January Zayn’s loyal fans, known as the Z-Squad, were blessed with his new single, “Pillowtalk.” The single was accompanied by a music video that featured his gorgeous girlfriend, supermodel Gigi Hadid.
“Pillowtalk” became an instant hit. Zayn became the first U.K. artist whose first single debuted at number one on Billboard’s Hot 100. The single also became the 25th song to debut at number one on Billboard.
After this success, fans were anxiously awaiting Zayn’s new album. Days before his album’s debut, Zayn released three more singles. The singles, “iT’s YoU,” “LIKE I WOULD” and “BeFoUr” all quickly became fan favorites helping “Mind of Mine” shoot to the top of iTunes’ pre-order list.
On March 25, the Z-Squad was armed and ready to help Zayn top every chart possible. By the end of the day, they accomplished just that. “Mind of Mine” debuted at number one in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, Taiwan, Sweden and Norway. Zayn became the first male artist from the U.K. to dominate at number one in the U.S. and the U.K. with a debut album.
Personally, being a part of the “Z-Squad,” I made it a priority to support Zayn and buy this album. Even though I was excited to hear the album, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Each single had its own sound and I was unsure of what direction – no pun intended – this album would go in. As an R&B fan, I was excited to see what Zayn would bring to the table.
Everyone knew him as being a part of One Direction making “solo” Zayn a mystery waiting to be uncovered.
The album cover is a picture of Zayn as a child, artistically dressed with his current tattoos (similar to Lil’ Wayne’s “The Carter III” album cover). Something that caught my immediate attention was the alternating capital letters throughout the track list.
After popping in this CD, I was ready for my life to change. And change, it did. Each soulful note that rang from my speakers changed my opinion of Zayn as a solo artist. Every song had a story to tell and its lyrics executed the message with ease.
From vocally driven songs such as “wRoNg” to the spiritual sound of “INTERMISSION:fLoWer” (which he sings in Urdu) every song is done to perfection.
In those 45 minutes, Zayn became one of my favorite male artists. His sound is very R&B, with a twist of pop.
Zayn can be easily compared to great artists such as Miguel, The Weeknd and Justin Timberlake. This album will definitely be my go-to music choice this summer. Anyone who isn’t a part of the Z-Squad should wake up and join this movement immediately, because the so-called Zayn Train will not be slowing down anytime soon.