Zayn Malik admits that even he was surprised by the worldwide reaction to his announcement that he was leaving One Direction.
In an interview with The Sun newspaper in the U.K. on Friday, the 22-year-old said that the past week – which saw him leave the band’s tour, return home to London and subsequently quit the band – has left him “feeling quite interesting.”
But he doesn’t regret making the decision to walk away from the biggest boy band in the world.
“It is crazy and wild and a bit mad,” he admitted in an interview conducted Thursday. “But at the same time I’ve never felt more in control in my life. And I feel like I’m doing what’s right – right by myself and right by the boys, so I feel good.”
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
