After 5 years of performing, Zayn Malik made the decision to leave the popular boy band One Direction. He performed with the band since 2010, when they were formed by Simon Cowell on UK’s The X Factor. After they finished in third place that year, they were signed to Syco Records and released four studio albums since then. So far, One Direction has sold over 17 million worldwide in album sales, become the first band to ever have their first four albums debut at #1 on the US Billboard 200, made over $75 million last year from touring, album sales, and endorsement deals, and was named Billboard’s Top Artist of the Year in 2014. Now that Zayn’s gone, what is going to happen to One Direction, which now consists of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson? It’s not the first time a boy band was shaken up by one member. In fact, history has proven that results have varied whenever this happened.
Warren Mitchell 