While One Directioners are tracking potential parallels between Harry Styles and Nicholas Galitzine’s The Idea Of You character, Zayn Malik is making it easy for them: His forthcoming album is about Zayn, written by Zayn. The 31-year-old wiped his Instagram and then posted a teaser video co-starring his (or someone’s) adorable dog.
“I think the intention behind this album fully is for the listener to get, you know, more insight on me personally as a human being — my ambitions, my fears — and for them to have a connection with that,” Malik said in the video, which shows footage of him with his dog. “And that’s why it’s so raw. You know, it’s just me writing this. I didn’t want anybody else to be in between me and the music, and the music and the people listening to it.”
A snippet of an unreleased song is also heard, in which he sings, “If I told you ‘I love you,’ would you say that it’s f*cked up?” The video is punctuated by a logo that looks like some sort of staircase.
Last week, Rolling Stone exclusively confirmed that Malik co-produced the album with nine-time Grammy winner Dave Cobb, a Nashville-based producer who’s worked with the likes of Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton, and Lady Gaga.
“In working with Cobb — one of Nashville’s most accomplished and in-demand producers — Malik will explore new sonic territory and lean into pairing his unmistakable vocals with live instrumentation,” Rolling Stone relayed. “The soulful singer-songwriter had spent several years writing the album at his home in rural Pennsylvania before enlisting Cobb’s help as a co-producer. There’s no release date or title yet, but the album will be Malik’s first on new label, Mercury Records.”
Malik’s most recent album, Nobody Is Listening, was released in January 2021. He and his ex, Gigi Hadid, welcomed their daughter in September 2020, and Malik told Alex Cooper on the Call Her Daddy podcast that his daughter will have a presence on his next record.
“I don’t think people are really going to expect — like, it’s a different sound for me, and it’s got some more narrative going on,” Malik said during the July 2023 episode. “Like, real-life experiences and stuff. So, yeah, my daughter’s mentioned in there a couple of times.”