When it comes to boy bands and girl groups, there is a shelf-life so it’s not unheard of when a member gets the itch and wants to spread their wings. It’s always the member who the media deems as the “breakout” star who gets the attention, and personally, I feel like it’s more about popularity and less about the overall talent.
In the case of One Direction’s Zayn Malik, he is the one the media has drooled over the most. He was linked to dating some high profile celebrities giving him more celebrity status quickly. “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”
You’ll recall that One Direction was signed with Simon Cowell’s record label Syco Records after forming and finishing third in the seventh series of the British televised singing competition The X Factor in 2010. After the release of Four, One Direction became the first band in the US Billboard 200 history to have their first four albums debut at number one.
Zayn Malik made his departure from One Direction on March 25, 2015 but it was difficult to figure out what his next steps would be. We’ve seen this so often, from Justin Timberland to Beyonce. Which member of the group would have a better chance for success, the talent of the group or the one who the media and fans crowned the golden child. Sometimes they are one in the same, sometimes they’re not.
Transitioning from group member to solo artist can be challenging because once you walk away you’re no longer judged as a group. Everyone is now looking at you, the individual artist. Critics are patiently waiting and ready to tear an artist down and point fingers.
Nicole Scherzinger is another example of how popularity doesn’t alway translate or mean that a branch off artist will have a successful solo career. Nicole left The Pussycat dolls at the height of their career and look what happened. Nicole’s career has been flat since leaving the Pussycat Dolls. I can not deny it, Nicole is talented, drop dead gorgeous and has a voice like no other but leaving the Pussycat Dolls wasn’t the best move.
When popularity takes over and gives a group member the illusion that they can make it as a solo artist it can be a formula for destruction. Breaking from a successful group can be baggage hard to shake. When fans are loyal to a group the departing member has to take into consideration their fans and whether or not they are ready to ride or die for them. If not, an artist could end up hosting a (cancelled) variety show with Neil Patrick Harris after one season.
Zayn has been on my radar ever since I heard he was breaking a world phenomenon as a member of One Direction. Since going solo I’ve been dying to hear his first single. Hearing his first single would help decipher whether or not he will have a long-lasting solo career.
On January 29th, 2016 Zayn released his first single/video, Pillowtalk and although the 6,442,091+ YouTube views is a good indication of interest in him, let’s see how fans react after listening to the track. Pillowtalk is a jam and a predictable choice; a choice that boxes him into the same category, teeny bopper music.
Pillowtalk is not awful. The song and video showcase Zayn’s ability to captivate an audience with his voice and his good looks. If you close your eyes and listen close to the track I do not find anything new in terms of lyrics and sound. It’s a track you could hear Usher, Timberlake or Chris Brown singing. Zayn’s voice is drowned out by the echo effects and the heavy electronic guitar. The video is well produced and Simon Cowell spared no expense.
Overall the song is good but the jury is still deliberating whether or not Zayn will make a regular appearance on my playlist and have long-lasting solo career. Hopefully Zayn’s next single will be a dance track. A dance track will give me a better perspective. In my opinion a dance track requires a lot of moving pieces. If you look at artists within the pop genre, mega-hits released earlier in their career were dance tracks. Take Chris Brown for example. With his first single Run It! peaking atop the US Billboard Hot 100, Brown became the first male artist as a lead since Diddy in 1997 to have his debut single top the chart.
Watching an artist depart from a highly successful music group and venture into the solo arena has always been fascinating to me. I believe their is room for everyone to succeed but that’s not always the case. The jury of course is still out on Zayn and his staying power as a solo artist.
