Former One Direction star Zayn Malik has been on a deeply personal journey, exploring his cultural roots for his new album Konnakol, number 3 in the UK’s Official Albums Chart.
Drawing on Pakistani influences, mixed with R&B, Zayn Malik, 33, says of his new music: “I’m educating people about where I come from in the world. Because it’s my culture. It’s amazing. It makes me look at my job like I’ve got a purpose.“ Particularly influenced by the Pakistani singer-songwriter, Nursat, Zayn, who describes himself as “half-Pakistani,” says: “He’s my guy, he’s my Elvis. I obviously was exposed to Nusrat real young. My dad would play a lot of his music, and yeah, he’s Pakistani, and he’s just got an incredible voice. The style of music that he does is very hypnotic almost, you know? You kind of get into this place of meditating with this guy’s voice and it’s like an out of body experience. I wanted to make this sexy R&B record that had this Indian element to it.”
Despite some positive reviews of his new album, it has been a tough few weeks for Zayn. His album’s launch has been overshadowed by a heart scare that saw him hospitalised and forced to cancel promotional events – including a trip to London. Before this, he is alleged to have had a bust-up with former 1D bandmate Louis Tomlinson, 34.
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Zayn was claimed to have punched him while wearing rings, causing injury, and a Netflix series they were filming has been spiked. Neither musician has addressed the allegations. Now, with the release of Konnakol – his fifth solo album since leaving 1D in March 2015 – fans are hoping Zayn will recover to start his second world tour, due to kick off at Manchester’s AO Arena on May 12.
And no one will be prouder than his dad, Yaser – whose wife Trisha converted to Islam after their marriage. Zayn says of Yaser, who worked in urban music, while his mum was a halal school cook: “My dad’s not stopped playing the new songs. He’s loving it [the new album]. I think he’s going to like a lot more of the Indian influence songs. I think it will be a very proud moment for him….that I’m repping our culture.”
But Zayn – whose previous solo albums include Mind of Mine (2016), Icarus Falls (2018), Nobody is Listening (2021) and Room Under the Stairs (2024) – says he is nervous of sending his new music to his dad before it’s officially released. He laughs: “He tends to play my music really loud. Then the whole street knows the album before it’s even come out!”
Speaking on the Zach Sang podcast in US, Zayn – who has a daughter, Khai, five, who he co-parents with his ex, US model Gigi Hadid, 30 – says life had ceased to be fun before he became a dad. He says: “I wasn’t enjoying things anymore. Now I am and I can tell a difference. There’s a big difference.”
Claiming he stopped having fun while he was in 1D in his early 20s, he says his experience “was obviously elevated because of the platform and the eyes that were on us.” He adds: “I wasn’t enjoying anything. It could be the most amazing thing on the planet and I just wasn’t fazed by it at all. I felt enjoyment again after Khai was born. It was like, ‘I just want to be happy for this other human being and be a good role model for her.’`’
He also credits Khai, who he looks after 50% of the time, with giving him the confidence to get back on stage – enjoying his first solo headline tour, the Stairway to the Sky Tour, between 2024 and 2025. He says: “Since Khai’s been in my life, it just made me want to show her what I do. I’ve been on stage a lot, you know, before she was born, but she never got to really see her dad do his job. I want to do it for her. The way she looks at things and experiences things for the first time, that’s really priceless.”
Zayn is anxious that as Khai gets older, she may not want to spend as much time with him. He confesses: “I’m scared of her getting older because then I’m thinking, my purpose will diminish again. Maybe she might not need me as much and that’s kind of scary to think about.”
As well as being grateful for being a parent, Zayn, who lives on a farm in rural Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where he keeps chickens, turtles, cats and dogs, is also grateful to Bradford – the 2025 UK City of Culture – where he grew up, for its creativity. He says: “There’s so much art that flows through Bradford. For sure, yeah, to me, it’s my home – so, it’ll always matter to me. There’s all kinds of creative people there. Amazing painters, prolific writers, singers. They just don’t get enough clout.”
Zayn, who as well as entertaining his daughter, says he has his own toy collection, confesses to indulging his love for painting Warhammer figurines “when Khai’s not there.”. He says: “There was a kid on my street when I was growing up that had a lot of them, and I couldn’t afford them. He would give me an odd one, and I would spend a lot of time just doing one tiny little thing. It’s just fun to do, I guess. I’m working on one at the minute. I’m doing an elephant from Lord of the Rings. But I’ve decided to paint it blue. I don’t use the instruction manual.”
Despite his alleged altercation with Louis Tomlinson, Zayn claims he has grown older “and wiser” since leaving 1D. He says he’s become “a lot more mature in the last few years.” Crediting Khai with improving his outlook on life, he says: “What have I learned from her? That life is f***ing beautiful. She’s full of love and I didn’t feel like I was for a very long time. So, she’s opened my eyes to that and brought that love back for me.”
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