Zayn Malik Releases First New Single in 2 Years with ‘Love Like This’: Watch

Zayn Malik is officially back.

The One Direction alum, 30, released his first new song in two years with “Love Like This,” his debut single for Mercury Records.

Alongside the summer anthem, the music video premiered on YouTube Friday, which was directed by Ivanna Borin & Frank Borin and shot in New York.

Malik wears a red and black motorcycle jacket while he woos his love interest. The pair share sultry kisses throughout the video, exchanging flirty looks before ascending into the sky near the video’s end.

His last project — Nobody Is Listening — was his third studio album and was released in 2021. He released his debut, Pillowtalk, in 2016 and its follow-up, Icarus Falls, in 2018.

Ahead of his new single, Malik appeared on the Call Her Daddy podcast last week in his first sit-down interview in nearly six years where he opened up about his decision to leave One Direction eight years prior.

The singer described how he hoped to beat out his fellow bandmates in launching a solo career — and that after five years together, they’d started to grow sick of spending all their time together.

“I don’t want to go into too much detail, but there was a lot of politics going on. Certain people were doing certain things, certain people didn’t want to sign contracts, so I knew something was happening,” he told host Alex Cooper. “So I just got ahead of the curve, if I’m being honest with you.”

Malik joined One Direction alongside Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Liam Payne as a contestant on the British competition series The X Factor in 2010.

By 2015, the group had released four No. 1 albums and had accumulated a massive fan base — but Malik was ready to make a change. The singer said that as soon as he realized the band’s future was in jeopardy, his competitive nature made him want to jump ship.

“I was like, ‘I’m just gonna get out of here, I think this is done,’ ” he said. “I completely selfishly wanted to be the first person to go and make my own record. I was like, ‘I’m gonna jump the gun here for the first time. I’m a passive dude but when it comes to my music and my business, I’m serious about it. I’m competitive, so I wanted to be the first to go and do my own thing.”

Malik announced his departure from One Direction in March 2015. The band released one final album without him that November. The group then went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016, and all five members have since launched successful solo careers.

[via]