zayn malik

Zayn Malik was born on January 12, 1993, in Bradford, England, to a family of English-Pakistani descent. He had an early love for singing and performing, and at the age of 17 he competed in the television competition The X Factor.

He was teamed up with four other male contestants to form the group act One Direction, who went on to become one of the most popular boy bands in music history. Malik left the group in March 2015. The following year, he released his first solo album.

He was eliminated before the final round of the competition, but judges Nicole Scherzinger and Simon Cowell grouped him with fellow competitors Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson to form a new act for the remainder of the show.

Performing as One Direction, this group became one of the most popular finalists in their season of The X Factor. They finished the competition in third place and they were immediately signed to Cowell’s Syco music label.