Former One Direction member Zayn Malik reveals his thoughts behind his former boy band. The truth is many people don’t know what it’s like to be in a boy band. Many artists write their own songs whereas boy bands rarely have a say in their music. Having songs written by a committee of people may feel shallow. Malik says this:

“I wasn’t 100 percent behind the music. It wasn’t me. It was music that was already given to us, and we were told this is what is going to sell to these people. As much as we were the biggest, most famous boy band in the world, it felt weird. We were told to be happy about something that we weren’t happy about.”

“If I would sing a hook or a verse slightly R&B, or slightly myself, it would always be recorded 50 times until there was a straight version that was pop, generic as #!%#, so they could use that version,” he revealed. “I wasn’t 100 percent behind the music. It wasn’t me. It was music that was already given to us, and we were told this is what is going to sell to these people. As much as we were the biggest, most famous boy band in the world, it felt weird. We were told to be happy about something that we weren’t happy about.”

Why he left the band..

“”A big part of why I left the band is I made the realization that it wasn’t actually about [being the biggest] anymore,”

“It wasn’t about the amount of tickets sales that I get. It was more about the people that I reach. I want to reach them in the right way, and I want them to believe what I’m saying. I’ve done enough in terms of financial backing for me to live comfortably. I just want to make music now.”