Zayn Malik Reveals Why He Left One Direction

Zayn Malik has finally revealed why he left One Direction, and the exact moment he knew he needed to step away.

"There was a lot of—look 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, so I just got ahead of the curve. I was like, ‘I'm just going to get out of here. I think this is done.'"

He explained he was ready to take charge of his own career.

"I completely selfishly wanted to be the first person to go and make my own record, if I'm being completely honest with you. I was like, 'I'm going to jump the gun here for the first time.'"

Although he would usually describe himself as "passive," he claimed to be the opposite when it comes to his music.

"I'm serious about it and I'm competitive, so I wanted to be the first to go and do my own thing. That was the reason—and then there was obviously underlying issues, like within our friendships too."