The singer is back, people! (Getty)
Zayn Malik has announced he’s releasing a new album in 2024, and fans are “not fine”.
The former One Direction star made a comeback in January after releasing a single with Pakistani band Aur, and pleasantly surprised listeners after singing fluently in Urdu on the song.
And it seems there’s more Malik goodness where that came from this year, as the star — who was the first member to depart the band — took to social media on 13 March to announce his new 2024 album, Room Under The Stairs.
“I’m (not) fine,” wrote one fan in response to his announcement, while another added: “My time of death : 3:27pm GMT”.
“Best News of the year!”, wrote another.
The upcoming record marks Malik’s fourth solo project, and his first with record company Mercury Records, which is home to the likes of Post Malone, Lily Rose, Mae Stephens, and Stephen Sanchez.
The lead single for the album, ‘What I Am’, is set to be released by the singer later this week. Malik has yet to share a track list for the album.
Malik began teasing the upcoming project earlier in March, saying in an Instagram post: “I think the intention behind this album fully is for the listener to get more insight on me personally as a human being. My ambitions, my fears, for them to have a connection with that, and that’s why it’s so raw.”
Speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast last year, Malik said that fans can expect a “different sound” from his upcoming work.
“I’m doing a record I don’t think people are really gonna expect… And it’s got some more narrative going on, like real-life experiences and stuff. My daughter’s mentioned in there a couple of times.”
His previous collaboration marked the first release from the 31-year-old since his January single.
“I was incredibly humbled when AUR reached out and asked me to collaborate on their song ‘Tu Hai Kahan,’” Malik said in a statement at the time, as per Rolling Stone. “I love the song and have brought some of myself to it. I hope people love what we’ve done.”
Band members Usama Ali, Ahad Khan, and Raffey Anwar, added at the time: “We are super excited for this collaboration as it shows that music has no boundaries.
“Tu Hai Kahan is such a special song to us, and it’s hard to describe how amazed we were when we first heard Zayn’s voice on the track. We’re taking Pakistani music global, and we can’t wait for the world to vibe to our music.”
Room Under The Stairs is set to be out on 17 May.