March 25 marks three years since ZAYN did the unthinkable, emotionally wounding so many when he unceremoniously walked away from one of the most lucrative musical groups in recent memory: One Direction. Heâs since found solo success with the release of his debut album Mind of Mine, so in honor of that anniversary (released two years ago March 25!) we decided to take a look back at all the times Zaynâs mentioned his former bandmates since leaving the group.
1. "To be honest, I never really spoke to Harry even when I was in the band. So I didn't really expect that much of a relationship with him when I left. And I haven't [had one], to be honest." - Us Weekly
2. "I think the boys kind of knew that wasn't my cup of tea...They would try to facilitate certain things for me so I could sing certain R&B ad-libs here and there, and that was nice." - Radio Interview
3. "There was never any room for me to experiment creatively in the band. 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 f**k." - Fader
4. "I'm massively grateful for that, and if it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be here," Zayn said. "It's not because I'm trying to be more successful or as successful as what was going on before, because there's no comparison. I was in the biggest boy band in the world and I loved what we did as a boy band. That's what makes this so exciting for me, because I'm in control of it now." - On Air With Ryan Seacrest
5. "'The truth of it is you can think one thing about a situation and the total opposite can happen. I had every intention of remaining friends with everybody, but I guess certain phone numbers have changed and I havenât received calls from a lot of people. Iâve reached out to a few of them and not got a reply. Certain people have pride issues, but itâs stuff you overcome in time.'" - Billboard
6. âI genuinely enjoyed [the band] and did whatever I could to be myself within that, but itâs just not where I sit as a musician. The other boysâ taste was generally indie rock. Itâs good music, but I donât f--- with it. That was never cool where I was from.â - Billboard
7. "I think I always kind of wanted to go, from the first year, really. I never really wanted to be there in the band, I just gave it a go because it was there at the time.â - Radio Interview
8. âAs much as I was in that band, and I loved everything that we did, thatâs not music that I would listen to. I donât think thatâs an offensive statement to make. Thatâs just not who I am. If I was sat at a dinner date with a girl, I would play some cool s**t, you know what I mean? I want to make music that I think is cool s**t. I donât think thatâs too much to ask for.â - Capital FM
9. "I know that musicians are seen as one-sided people a lot of the time. But we do have other elements to us as well. I didn't feel good [in 1D]. Do you know what I mean? And if you don't feel good⊠You need to be able to express what it is that you are. I'm free at last." - Dazed
10. âI liked the fact that there were nostalgic choices about the memories that we've shared together. ⊠It was a positive thing. There was nothing negative. So I enjoyed it. It was nice to look back at the memories we shared together. It's cool." - on One Directionâs âHistoryâ music video, which included clips of Zaynâs time with the band, Zach Sang and the Gang
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