And then there were Four

By Nia Evans, Staff Writer

If you haven’t heard about Zayn Malik leaving the biggest and most successful boy band in history since the Beatles, then you need to catch up. In the last few days of March the world was shaken up by the surprising news that Zayn from One Direction was leaving the famous band. The news broke millions of teenage girls’ hearts around the world, and personally when I heard the news I shed a few tears myself. Prior to the news, any 1D fan could guess, that the first person to quit the band would have been Zayn, many expected this day would come. But no one expected that day would come so soon. Zayn explained that his departure from the band was due to the immense amount of stress it put him through, the strain it put on his personal relationships, and overall wanting something different. He feels he out grew the band.

When the news broke there was a lot of hate towards Zayn, but even more so towards his fiancee Perrie Edwards, who is a member of the group Little Mix. The event that really pushed Zayn to his breaking point, was tabloid pictures of Zayn getting close with a “fan” , there were two pictures of Zayn with a girl one picture of them holding hands and the other one with his his hand all over her waist. Which stirred up conflict between him and his fiancee pushing him to finally quit the band.

At first I too shared this hatred towards Zayn thinking that he’s being selfish and  letting a lot of people down, but then I realized I too have grown out of my One Direction phase and I’m not as big of a fan like I was a couple of years ago. And it’s quite selfish to ask someone who isn’t happy with their life to keep living it that way just for our entertainment.

But now, the question on all of our minds is what’s in the future for One Direction? Zayn’s vocals were a major contributing factor to the band’s sound.  Is the fame of the band really going to be short lived after only five years of being together? Historically,  it’s around the five year mark where boy bands begin to disperse.The famous American boy band Nsync broke up only after seven years together. The Beatles were only together for eight. So it shouldn’t come as a shock if the band only lasts a year or two more. It’s sad to see this generation’s biggest boy band slowly coming to an end.

Now, people aren’t waiting for the final breakup, many know it’s already here, but rather are waiting to see who will rise up and become the Justin Timberlake of boy bands and have a successful solo career. Will it be Harry, Liam, Niall? ( we all know it won’t be Louis, well maybe except for Louis). Or maybe it will be Zayn who is already in the studio starting on his new solo career. All we know right now is that One Direction will never be the same again.