On Jan. 29, Zayn Malik released his first solo single, “PILLOW TALK.” Soon after the song was introduced, it climbed to the top of the U.S. charts and still remains in the top five. When the music video starring Gigi Hadid came out on YouTube, it gained more views than Zayn’s former band, One Direction’s, recently released video for the song, “History.”

With One Direction on a hiatus, it is an ideal time for Zayn to begin his solo career. However, the focus is not all on Zayn: One Direction (Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan) has left its many dedicated fans wondering if they will come back after their break. Many Mt. Hebron students are also uncertain about One Direction’s future plans and whether Zayn’s debut was a success.

Sophomore Cooper Watts said,  “I like [Zayn’s music]. I feel like it’s definitely a different sound than he had when he was in One Direction.”

Sophomore Linnea Collins, elaborated on this different sound and said it is “…kinda catchy, but not amazing.”

After Malik’s departure from the band in early 2015, One Direction continued their massive stadium tour “On The Road Again,” as if things were normal and even began working on their next album as a foursome.

Malik not only broke up with his band, but he also split from his fiance of three years, Perrie Edwards, a member of the British girl band “Little Mix.”

To add to the drama, Tomlinson began bickering with Malik’s new producer Shahid Khan, known as “Naughty Boy”, over social media. Malik finally put an end to the bickering by tweeting at Khan: “stop pretending we’re friends no one knows you.” Needless to say, Naughty Boy dropped off the radar for a while.

Meanwhile, Tomlinson and Payne proceeded to break up with their long-term girlfriends, leaving fans of the couples disappointed and reminiscent. After the breakup, Tomlinson announced that he having a child with makeup artist Briana Jungworth, and Directioners truly began to wonder if normalcy would ever return again.

The band continued to surprise its fan base by announcing an 18-month hiatus. Since then, there have been countless rumours discussing possible solo careers for Styles and his band members. One Direction does intend to return to the stage though: Horan tweeted “Don’t worry, we’ll be back.”

Styles also calmed the fans when he explained, “When you get to this part [performing], it kind of feels like it’s not about me, it’s not about us anymore, it’s about them [the audience], and making sure they have a good time… That part of it is addictive, it’s my favorite part for sure.”

“Not doing shows for a while doesn’t make me sad, it makes me excited to come back and do more,” Styles added.

However, even with this reassurance, sophomore Andrew Breazeale is not convinced. “I think they’ll all go solo because they seem to have outgrown the ‘boy band’ phase.”

Regardless of which direction the band will take, there is no doubt that One Direction and Malik have made a name for themselves in the music industry.