--- description: He's going in another direction title: Zayn Malik Quits One Direction image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltad326780d235b767/6987852e55a8599529a867a9/zayn-malik.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Zayn Malik Leaves One Direction ## Video: A Year in Space: The Mission [Watch (HLS stream): A Year in Space: The Mission](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/gEqrnCPI.m3u8) (3:59)  _Published 2015-03-24. On March 28, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly begins a historic year in Space. Time follows Kelly and his twin brother, Mark, as they work the test the boundaries of long-term space travel._  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 25, 2015 4:47 PM CUT  Zayn Malik quits One Direction Zayn Malik quits One DirectionIan Wes—PA Wire/Press Association Images  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 25, 2015 4:47 PM CUT Zayn Malik, one-fifth of the massively popular boy band One Direction, has left the group. One Direction announced his departure on Facebook not long after Malik [departed from their world tour](http://time.com/3751327/zayn-malik-leaving-tour/ "undefined") because of “stress.” “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,” Malik said in the statement. “I know I have four friends for life in Louis, Liam, Harry and Niall. I know they will continue to be the best band in the world.” The band says it will continue to record as a foursome and release a fifth album this year. The band’s full statement, [from their Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/onedirectionmusic/posts/869295683125227 "undefined"): --- > “” --- _Read next:_ [_Why Zayn Malik Has the Makings of a Great Solo Star_](http://time.com/3758882/zayn-malik-one-direction-solo/?iid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") ### See One Direction Throughout the Years  Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Zain Malik of One Direction perform at the BBC Teen Awards at Wembley arena in London, England in 2011. Dave Hogan—Getty Images  One Direction perform at the BBC Teen Awards at Wembley arena in London, England in 2011. Dave Hogan—Getty Images  One Direction perform at the BBC Teen Awards at Wembley arena in London, United Kingdom in 2011. Dave Hogan—Getty Images  One Direction perform at the BBC Teen Awards at Wembley arena in London, United Kingdom in 2011. Dave Hogan—Getty Images  Zayn Malik of One Direction performs at Nickelodeon's 25th Annual Kids' Choice Awards held at Galen Center in Los Angeles, Calif. in 2012. Christopher Polk—KCA2012/Getty Images  Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne and Zayn Malik of One Direction perform at HMV Hammersmith Apollo in London, England in 2012. Joseph Okpako—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Harry Styles of One Direction pose during a portrait shoot at Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia in 2012. Sam Ruttyn—Newspix/Getty Images  Zayn Malik of One Direction performs on NBC's Today at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City in 2012. Slaven Vlasic—Getty Images  One Direction performs onstage during Z100's Jingle Ball 2012 at Madison Square Garden on in New York City in 2012. Kevin Kane—Getty Images for Jingle Ball 201  One Direction speaks onstage during the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in 2013. Theo Wargo—WireImage/Getty Images  One Direction performs onstage during the 2013 American Music Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, Calif. in 2013. Christopher Polk—AMA2013/Getty Images  One Direction performs at the stage during their presentation as part of the tour "Where We Are Tour" at Velez Sarsfield Stadium on May 03, 2014 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Cesar Quiroga—LatinContent/Getty Images  Guitarist Dan Richards and Niall Horan of One Direction perform onstage during the "Where We Are" tour at Met Life Stadium on Aug. 4, 2014 in New York City. Kevin Mazur—OneD/Getty Images  Zayn Malik of One Direction performs onstage during the "Where We Are" tour at Met Life Stadium on Aug. 4, 2014 in New York City. Kevin Mazur—OneD/Getty Images  Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Harry Styles on the One Direction TV special in 2014. Jeff Daly—NBC/Getty Images  Niall Horan of One Direction performs onstage during the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 20, 2014 in Las Vegas, NV. Denise Truscello—WireImage/Getty Images  Niall Horan of One Direction performs onstage during the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 20, 2014 in Las Vegas, NV. Christopher Polk—Getty Images  Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan of One Direction perform onstage during the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 20, 2014 in Las Vegas, NV. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  Niall Horan of One Direction appears on NBC's Today Show to release their new album "Four" at Universal City Walk At Universal Orlando on Nov. 17, 2014 in Orlando, Fla. John Parra—WireImage/Getty Images  Amy Adams and One Direction members Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan appear on Saturday Night Live on Dec. 18, 2014. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images  Harry Styles performs on Saturday Night Live on Dec. 18, 2014. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images  Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan of One Direction perform on Saturday Night Live on Dec. 18, 2014. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3758321/zayn-malik-leaves-one-direction/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3758321/zayn-malik-leaves-one-direction/"},"headline":"Zayn Malik Leaves One Direction","datePublished":"2015-03-25T16:47:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:52.709Z","description":"He's going in another direction","url":"https://time.com/3758321/zayn-malik-leaves-one-direction/","keywords":["celebrities","Music","One Direction","Zayn Malik"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltad326780d235b767/6987852e55a8599529a867a9/zayn-malik.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltad326780d235b767/6987852e55a8599529a867a9/zayn-malik.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Zayn Malik quits One Direction.","caption":"Zayn Malik quits One Direction.","creditText":"Ian Wes—PA Wire/Press Association Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3758321/zayn-malik-leaves-one-direction/","name":"Zayn Malik Leaves One Direction"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"A Year in Space: The Mission","description":"On March 28, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly begins a historic year in Space. 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