Zayn Malik broke millions of hearts when he announced he was leaving British boy band One Direction, and now, in their first official interview since his departure, the group’s remaining four crooners are speaking out.
“It’s been a tough few weeks, probably the toughest since the band was formed five years ago,” Payne, 21, told the newspaper. “We’re gutted that Zayn chose to leave, but now after a few performances as a four piece, we’re feeling confident and are determined to carry on stronger than ever.”
Despite the loss of their bandmate, the guys are staying positive about what’s to come and continuing their On the Road Again tour.
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 ImagesOne Direction perform at the BBC Teen Awards at Wembley arena in London, England in 2011.Dave Hogan—Getty ImagesOne Direction perform at the BBC Teen Awards at Wembley arena in London, United Kingdom in 2011.Dave Hogan—Getty ImagesOne Direction perform at the BBC Teen Awards at Wembley arena in London, United Kingdom in 2011.Dave Hogan—Getty ImagesZayn 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 ImagesLouis 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 ImagesLouis 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 ImagesZayn Malik of One Direction performs on NBC's Today at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City in 2012.Slaven Vlasic—Getty ImagesOne 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 201One Direction speaks onstage during the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in 2013.Theo Wargo—WireImage/Getty ImagesOne 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 ImagesOne 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 ImagesGuitarist 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 ImagesZayn 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 ImagesZayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Harry Styles on the One Direction TV special in 2014.Jeff Daly—NBC/Getty ImagesNiall 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 ImagesNiall 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 ImagesLiam 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 ImagesNiall 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 ImagesAmy 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 ImagesHarry Styles performs on Saturday Night Live on Dec. 18, 2014.Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty ImagesLouis 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
“We’re looking forward to seeing all our fans on the tour this year,” said Horan, 21, in the interview, which was published on Friday. “All we want to do is make them proud and return their faith in us with a brilliant tour and an amazing new album.”
The group reportedly began working on a new record in February, and despite the shake up, will continue to make new music. Styles confirmed the rumors, telling The Sun “It’s very exciting to be working on our fifth album.”
“All four of us are 100 percent committed to staying in One Direction and we want to thank the fans for being so incredible during this time,” Tomlinson, 23, assured fans.
