The 33 Best Photos From Zayn Malik's Time in One Direction
WireImage1/35When Zayn Malik left One Direction on March 25, 2015, hearts around the world shattered. How could a member of One Direction go in another dir...we'll spare you. And though we knew deep down it was for the best, there was still something terribly bittersweet about the knowledge that five boys were now down to four.
A year later, and so much has changed. Zayn has a whole new look — though just as many tattoos as ever — a new girlfriend, and a new highly-anticipated album, Mind of Mine. He's notably said that this is the music he's wanted to make all along, but he's still come such a long way from the teenager who wowed judges with the rendition of "You Should Let Me Love You" (and at the audition for which he almost slept in and missed, no less).
He's also admitted that things between the other members of One Direction haven't been quite that amicable since he left, but that just makes our hearts hurt more. Do you remember when they were five friends charming the world? We do. As such, we decided to take a walk down memory lane, from One Direction's formation to their last time as a group of five. They may each be moving on to exciting new solo careers, but we will always have the (midnight) memories.
WireImage2/35Way back when we were first introduced to One Direction...and that hair.
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 24: X-Factor finalists One Direction (L-R) Niall Horran, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Zain Malik attend the Very.co.uk Christmas Catwalk Show held at Victoria House on November 24 in London, England. (Photo by JAB Promotions/WireImage)
Getty Images3/35But they quickly proved how well they could suit up at the Narnia premiere.
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 30: (L-R) Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson,Zain Malik, Harry Styles and Liam Payne of 'One Direction' attend the Royal Film Performance and World Premiere of 'The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader' at Odeon Leicester Square on November 30, 2010 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
UK Press via Getty Images4/35No, but like. We need to talk about this hair.
One Direction (L-R) Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik And Niall Horan During The X Factor Press Conference Ahead Of The Live Final On The 11Th And 12Th Of December 2010, London. (Photo by Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images)
Getty Images5/35Look how excited they were for their first single!
It really was what made them beautiful.
Getty Images6/35Every boy band has this formation down pat. It's just boy band law.
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 09: Harry Styles, Zain Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Niall Horan of One Direction perform at the BBC Teen Awards at Wembley arena on October 9, 2011 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)
Getty Images7/35There it was: their first Brit award.
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 21: L-R Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and Harry Styles of One Direction accept their Best British Single Award at The Brit Awards 2012 at The O2 Arena on February 21, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)
FilmMagic8/35And their first stateside debut.
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 12: One Direction (L to R) Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayne Malik and Niall Horan perform on NBC's "Today" at Rockefeller Plaza on March 12, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Debra L Rothenberg/FilmMagic)
WireImage9/35An iconic moment, in which Zayn pushed Harry's face into his own cake.
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 14: Harry Styles of the band One Direction has his face pushed into a cake by bandmates while visiting The Elvis Duran Z100 Morning Show for a pre-taped interview to be aired on March 16, 2012, at Z100 Studio on March 14, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Paul Zimmerman/WireImage)
WireImage10/35We're not sure which one is cuter, tbh.
It's a really, really close call.
FilmMagic11/35Free idea, people behind the Men in Black movies: cast these guys in Men in Black 4.
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 23: (L-R) Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, and Liam Payne of the band One Direction attend the "Men In Black 3" New York premiere at the Ziegfeld Theatre on May 23, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)
WireImage12/35Their first Moon Men. They really have arrived.
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 06: (L-R) Singers Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan of One Direction pose in the press room during the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards at Staples Center on September 6, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage)
NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images13/35This might be the closest they've ever gotten to choreographed dance moves.
TODAY -- Pictured: One Direction (l-r) Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik appears on NBC News' "Today" show -- (Photo by: Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC NewsWire via Getty Images)
Getty Images14/35Also, we need to talk about this hair.
Bbc Radio 1'S Teen Awards, Wembley Arena, London, Britain - 07 Oct 2012, One Direction - Zayn Malik (Photo by Brian Rasic/Getty Images)
WireImage15/35Our boys were immortalized in wax.
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 18: Wax figures of the band members of One Direction, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles , (B) Zayin Malik and Liam Payne are presented at the One Direction Wax Figures Unveiling at Madame Tussauds on July 18, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/WireImage)
WireImage16/35And as action figures.
WESTWOOD, CA - AUGUST 06: Members of the band One Direction Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Harry Styles appear at the One Direction Private Concert & Fan Chat, Hosted by Hasbro at W Westwood on August 6, 2013 in Westwood, California. (Photo by Rich Polk/WireImage)
Getty Images17/35One question: who gets to take the surfboard home? Is there a time-share option?
UNIVERSAL CITY, CA - AUGUST 11: (L-R) Singers Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan of One Direction accept Choice Group award onstage during the Teen Choice Awards 2013 at Gibson Amphitheatre on August 11, 2013 in Universal City, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
WireImage18/35They were more focused on making sure each other ate well than promoting their movie.
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 19: Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan,Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles of One Direction and Morgan Spurlock attend a photocall to launch their new film 'one Direction: This Is Us 3D' on August 19, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage)
Getty Images19/35But they still came out dressed to the nines for the premiere.
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 20: (L-R) Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Harry Styles and Liam Payne of One Direction attend the world premiere of 'One Direction - This Is Us' at The Empire Leicester Square on August 20, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
FilmMagic20/35Each facial expression here deserves its own story.
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 23: (L-R) Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Harry Styles of One Direction perform on NBC's "Today" at Rockefeller Plaza on August 23, 2013 in New York, New York. (Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic)
FilmMagic21/35Remember that time Louis called it and told Niall, "Not now, my dude, but in in two years, you and Selena will go on a date. Trust me."
Louis is psychic.
WireImage22/35But they took home more Moon Men of their own, too.
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 25: (L-R) Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson of One Direction pose in the press room the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards at the Barclays Center on August 25, 2013 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage)
Getty Images23/35And they published a book!
They're singers slash authors, okay.
FilmMagic24/35But they still managed to find a little downtime.
PLAYA VISTA, CA - NOVEMBER 23: Zayn Malik (L) and Louis Tomlinson on set during One Direction celebrates 1D Day at YouTube Space LA, a 7-hour livestream event broadcast exclusively on YouTube and Google+. Featuring behind the scenes footage, Guinness world record attempts, and amazing special guests, the global event also marked the premiere of tracks from their new album 'Midnight Memories', set for release November 25th, in Playa Vista, California on November 23, 2013 (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
Getty Images25/35And win some more Brit awards.
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 19: Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan of One Direction, winner of the British Video and Global Success BRIT awards, pose in the winners room at The BRIT Awards 2014 at 02 Arena on February 19, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images)
WireImage26/35As well as an AMA.
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 24: (L-R) Recording artists Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik of music group One Direction, winners of Favorite Album - Pop/Rock for 'Take Me Home' and Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Pop/Rock, pose in the press room at the 2013 American Music Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on November 24, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/WireImage)
NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images27/35They stopped by SNL to perform alongside host Paul Rudd.
Paul could be a sixth member of the group, TBH. He looks youthful.
Getty Images28/35Even during the crazy touring schedule, Zayn managed to find a little downtime.
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 04: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY; NO COVERS; NO USE IN ANY MAGAZINE OR OTHER PUBLICATION BASED PREDOMINANTLY ON ONE DIRECTION OR ANY ONE OR MORE MEMBERS OF ONE DIRECTION) Zayn Malik of One Direction performs onstage during the "Where We Are" tour at Met Life Stadium on August 4, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/OneD/Getty Images)
Getty Images for Clear Channel29/35This, taken at the iHeart Radio Music Awards, might be the single most glorious photo ever taken.
As such, we had to include it.
AFP/Getty Images30/35Where were we? Back to the AMA-winning.
One Direction poses with their three awards in the press room at the 2014 American Music Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, California, November 23, 2014. The pop sensations won the awards for Aritst Of The Year, Favorite Pop/Rock Band, Duo or Group and Favorite Pop/Rock Album. One Direction is Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, and Harry Styles. AFP PHOTO/FREDERIC J. BROWN (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)
FilmMagic31/35Shout out to Zayn's perfectly lopsided lock of hair.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - DECEMBER 11: Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and and Harry Styles of One Direction attend the BBC Music Awards at Earl's Court Exhibition Centre on December 11, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Fred Duval/FilmMagic)
WireImage32/35Ever the hype man, Liam was enthusiastic enough for everyone.
MADRID, SPAIN - DECEMBER 12: (L-R) Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan of One Direction perform during the '40 Principales Awards' 2014 Gala at the Palacio de los Deportes on December 12, 2014 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Fotonoticias/WireImage)
NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images33/35But the boys made it back to one final SNL performance, and even put the wardrobe department to work.
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE -- "Amy Adams" Episode 1672 -- Pictured: Backrow: (l-r) Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik of One Direction; Front Row: (l-r) Aidy Bryant as Morgan, Cecily Strong as Kira and Amy Adams as Megan Carter-Casgrove during the "Girlfriends Talk Show" skit on December 20, 2014 -- (Photo by: Dana Edelson/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images34/35Their days as a group of five may be over, but that doesn't mean they're forgotten.
After all, could you forget a group of boys who so perfectly wear ugly Christmas sweaters unironically? We didn't think so. And we couldn't either.
