March of 2015, Zayn Malik announced he would be leaving his band of five years: One Direction. Hearts were broken, dreams of seeing the band with all five members were crushed, but the singer had this to say in an interview with Dan Wootton, “It’s crazy and wild and a bit mad, but at the same time I’ve never felt more in control, like I’m doing what’s right by myself and right by the boys. I’m feeling good.” Coincidentally, a year later Zayn has dropped his first album ‘Mind of Mine’ on the anniversary of his departure of the band.
He has every reason to feel good about his success as a solo artist. The album stood at #1 on the iTunes Chart on the day of its debut and its most recent position is also #1. The album also charted in the U.K, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Spain, Australia, and Brazil. In the past year Zayn has let it be known that he was never comfortable with being in the band and was constantly looking for a way to express himself, something he wasn’t able to do. With his new platform as an R&B/Pop artist he’s able to do that now.
Many things can be said about the album, including this from Rolling Stones’ Miller Mobly, “Above hi-hat rolls or tribal drum ‘n’ bass beats, he carefully steers beyond banal lothario showmanship to prove he’s a convincing seducer.” It seems there is no question that the album will quite possibly be the best pop album of the year however, what will this mean for other artists of Asian descent? Now that Zayn has shown the world that not only does he not fit into the ‘boy band mold’ that he was placed in at such a young age, but that he is unapologetically a Pakistani artist, will other artists be afforded the same opportunity and rewarded with the same attentions?
The singer’s debut album features a song written and sung in Urdu, Zayn’s father’s native tongue. The song, entitled INTERMISSION: fLoWer, appears as the seventh track on the album; a pleasant surprise to all listeners and seemingly opening the door for more artists to embrace their cultures in their music. We’ve seen it done in Hip Hop, Rap, and R&B for decades now— it’s about time we see it happen in Pop too.
Zayn already won the Outstanding Achievements award at the Asian Awards last year, where he thanked his parents for, “[…] allowing […] him to have some sort of effect on the Asian community.” Hopefully this effect he has on the Asian community will allow other Asian artists to experience the same born-again fame that he has— one that allows them to be true to their own identities. While this is only the beginning for Zayn Malik, other artists are still struggling to escape the confines of being pigeonholed into the Asian Artists category, and like Zayn, many want recognition and acceptance in a world that isn’t familiar with their cultures yet. Before Zayn how many were able to enjoy music from Asian artists at a worldwide level? Very few. It’s not a question of these artists not existing (see Bilal Saeed) but a question of whether or not Western music industry is willing to accept another side of artistry, one that is much more diverse and culturally rich.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/zayn-malik-mind-of-mine-20160325
http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/music/zayn-maliks-new-album-features-an-urdu-song/
http://www.fuse.tv/2015/03/zayn-malik-left-one-direction-interview http://www.fuse.tv/2015/11/complete-guide-zayn-malik-debut-solo-album
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