So much for taking a break…
It’s been a rough week for millions of dedicated Directioners around the world, to say the least. And now, Zayn’s decision to go another direction (yes, pun intended) is getting messy. Less than a week after Zayn officially announced his departure from One Direction, a solo track titled “I Won’t Mind” was posted online, sending fans into a frenzy. The song was posted on Soundcloud by music producer Naughty Boy, who has worked closely with Zayn in the past.
Prior to releasing the song, Naughty Boy retweeted a video on Twitter (below), which prompted the initial fangirl outrage. Even Louis Tomlinson voiced his outrage, sparking a Twitter feud with the producer.
“@naughtyboymus: The truth pic.twitter.com/NnMlFjuAk5” @bestdittyvideos
— X (@DdguX) March 30, 2015
@NaughtyBoyMusic I was talking about the video you tweeted . Clearly trying to wind the fans up ! Well you succeeded anyway . Fair play
— Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) March 31, 2015
@Louis_Tomlinson lol you should let the other boys talk for a change. :)
— Naughty Boy (@NaughtyBoyMusic) March 31, 2015
Shortly afterwards, Naughty Boy posted a tweet saying, “let the music do the talking guys. thank us later. :) x,” followed by a Soundcloud link. Needless to say, chaos ensued when fans discovered Zayn’s solo track. In fact, Zayn has lost more than 50,000 followers on Twitter since the song was released. A few hours later, the track was deleted from Soundcloud due to the heavy backlash, but it lives on thanks to YouTube.
Now in a turn of events, reports claim that “I Won’t Mind” is no indication of the music that Zayn plans on releasing as a solo artist. According to The Daily Mail, the track is supposedly a demo of a song originally considered for One Direction’s most recent album, Four. The acoustic-driven, moody song ultimately didn’t make it onto the album.
In case you didn’t catch the song on Soundcloud before its removal, check it out below: