When I look back at how much my life has changed since One Direction began, I do a double take. For a start, I’m a little bit busier! I don’t spend anywhere near as much time at home, because I’m always on the road with the boys. My life has changed so much. The best way to put it into perspective is to say that before 1D I didn’t even own a passport, but now I’m traveling all over the world. It’s been crazy – we didn’t know what to expect or what would happen after we signed our record deal, but I wouldn’t change a thing.
My memories of when the band first got put together are great. It was such a good time, because it was all totally new to us, so it was really exciting. I think the first time we ever felt like a proper band performance-wise was on the X Factor tour, because we got to do more than one song and put on a proper show. That made it all seem real; everything we’d been working for on The X Factor came together. For the first time we could really see where we could take the band.
Of all the places we’ve visited, LA is my favorite. California is great generally, because the people there are so chilled out and there’s always great weather; everyone seems to be in a good mood all the time.
Going to loads of different countries is so cool. It’s crazy to think that sometimes we’ll wake up in London, fly to Italy just for the day, come back home and sleep in our own beds that same night. It feels like a whirlwind – but a great one. People are always so welcoming in all of the European countries – everywhere, in fact – and we feel so lucky that we get to visit such amazing places.
We don’t always get to see a lot of the country we’re in if we’ve got a busy schedule – but on the world tour we’ve made sure we do some sightseeing, and we’ve looked around some amazing places. We also get to experience new foods, which again is something totally new for me: I’d never tried Italian food before I was in One Direction! Now I’m eating all sorts of things.
We’ve also pushed the boat out with the TV shows we do. We did a really crazy TV program when we were in Spain once, where we had to do some science experiments, including driving a car over a bed of nails. It was a crazy show and so much fun.
When we go back to the UK X Factor it hits me how crazy things have gotten, because it doesn’t feel like very long ago that we were there for the first time. We all have a great time on the show; we get to catch up with the people we know who are still working there and it all feels really familiar. We also love meeting the new contestants and chatting to them about their X Factor experience, because it’s often really similar to ours.
For me, our first gig at Madison Square Garden will go down as one of the best we’ve ever done, and it’s a night I’ll never forget. I loved the fact that so many people we know were there. When we stepped out onstage and I looked out at the crowd, I got such a rush – just thinking that it was New York, and there we were, in the city’s biggest venue. Afterwards we had a real celebration of how far we’d come. How many people get to say they’ve performed at MSG? It’s wicked.
It’s so cool to get to see how other people live around the world, and I try to pick up words in different languages. I’m not that great at it, but Harry is pretty good at learning phrases and things, and Louis’s French is impressive too, although he says it’s not.
My favorite thing I’ve bought while traveling is a robot from Japan, but I really love bringing back things for my sisters, like bags and jewelry – I just get them little things I know they’ll like. One of the main perks of the job is being able to treat the people you care about and feel good doing it, knowing that you’ve worked hard for it all.
The most starstruck I’ve been was when we were introduced to Will Smith at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards. I was kind of worried that he would be big-headed because he’s Will Smith, but he was so cool. I was really humbled by him.
I have so many great memories from live shows and tours, and by the end of the world tour I’ll have loads more. It’s been a crazy three-year experience and I honestly wonder how we got here sometimes.
Zayn at the Olympic Games closing ceremony. 16 August 2012
I honestly think the best way to stay down to earth is to keep all your family around you, and all those people who knew you when you were just “Zayn Malik,” rather than “Zayn from One Direction.” You need to surround yourself with people who will treat you the same way they always did, regardless of the group. I only really had two close friends growing up and I’m still really good mates with them now. Our friendship is the same – they still joke around with me like they’ve always done. They remind me who I am.
I think people I’m close to find it absolutely crazy that I’m famous. I once asked my older sister if she found it weird and she said that she did, but she doesn’t equate the person she sees on TV with the real me. She just sees me at home with the rest of the family doing normal things, like having dinner and watching TV.
The whole thing is weird for us, so I guess it must be weird for our families too, but they all take it in their stride and get on with it. My parents have always been really supportive of me, even when I was just doing little plays in school and stuff – they always turned up to watch me. My mom still loves coming along to our shows now and having a good dance. My sisters love it as well; they come to as many shows as they can.
The most important thing is not to get caught up in your own hype, and it would be easy to do that in a business like this. We have to remember that a few years ago we were five lads who were getting on with our everyday lives, then this crazy opportunity came along and changed that – but it doesn’t mean that it has to change us.
I always knew I wanted to do something big with my life. At first, that was my inspiration for being in 1D – but that’s changed: now it’s the fans, the other lads and the fact that I love being in the band so much. Before I auditioned for The X Factor I was so nervous and scared, and then when I was put in a band I really felt I’d been thrown in at the deep end, because I’d never done anything like it before. But I’ve just taken each day as it comes and embraced everything.
I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved musically all around the world. We’ve done things that no other British band has done: getting two number-one albums in America was mind-blowing, and we’ve had number ones in countries we’ve never even been to! I don’t know how they know about us, but they’re going out, buying our records and supporting us, and that means so much. They even buy us gifts for our birthdays and give us cards, which is so cute… Although you do get the odd weird thing sent to you as well. I’ve been sent a mankini and I also got sent someone’s hair once. I wasn’t sure what to do with it!
The fans are the reason we are where we are, so they’re a massive part of One Direction. They’re who we care about. We understand that it’s the music that’s keeping the fans interested, and they want to be able to listen to something that we have a lot of involvement in. We try to incorporate a lot of our lives into the tracks by songwriting and getting involved in the production side of things. That way we feel more passionately about the songs, and that shines through when we’re singing them.
My favorite track from our second album is “Summer Love,” because it’s quite epic and it reminds me of a movie soundtrack. From the first album I love “More Than This,” because I think the lyrics are really clever – when I sing it onstage I really connect with it emotionally.
The awards ceremonies we’ve been to have been amazing, from the VMAs to the BRITs to the Teen Choice Awards. I guess the VMAs have been my favorite, because all of the biggest stars were together in one place, watching us perform.
While we were onstage I looked into the crowd and saw Rihanna and Katy Perry sitting and chatting to each other about what we were doing. It was so crazy! It felt like a dream that I was going to wake up from any minute. The people I’d looked up to for years were there watching me perform. Wow!
Each award is like a massive stamp in our career book, and we keep getting more and more stamps. I keep
all of my awards in a cupboard in my living room, alongside a load of other stuff I’ve collected. They literally sit next to random objects I’ve owned for years and years… But obviously they mean a bit more.
YES DUBLIN! 5 March 2013
Our fans are great. We love performing live any time we get the opportunity, as that’s when we get to see a lot of our fans. The American fans are really enthusiastic and they’re not at all shy about talking to you, whereas in other countries they can be more reserved. It’s funny that different countries have different favorite band members – I’ve got no idea why that is. For instance, the Americans love Niall because he’s got that boy-next-door look. We don’t get jealous or anything, though, honestly!
We’ve been so lucky to have such unbelievable support around the world. The UK fans helped us become well known through Twitter and Facebook, and it was crazy how quickly things kicked off once the word got out.
We know a lot of our fans by name because they’ve been with us since day one, and we’re getting to know more all the time. When we turn up to a show and there are thousands of fans waiting outside, it really is the best feeling. I can’t even begin to say what they all mean to me. They’ve made my dreams come true.
Zayn onstage at the O2. 23 February 2013
The world tour is undoubtedly one of our biggest and best achievements. We’re having such an amazing time and I love getting to chill out on the tour bus in between shows. I’ve been watching a lot of gangster movies (as per usual), like Donnie Brasco and Scarface, and I sleep a lot. If you’ve been missing sleep, it’s a great time to catch up.
Also, I’ve got really into reading again. Some books have a huge impact on me. Plus, when I’m reading more, my songwriting improves – I think my vocabulary gets a little wider, and it makes me feel more creative. I always take my books away with me, as well as my laptop and phone. I’d be totally lost without them. Those things and clothes are all I need.
The other 1D boys and I don’t really play that many pranks on each other anymore – we mainly play them on the crew or security, so we’ll team up and start a water fight or something stupid. You can go a bit crazy when you’ve been on the tour bus for hours on end! Sometimes we stay up all night just messing around and talking. (Obviously I make up for it with extra sleep the next day…)
Before the tour we felt a little bit nervous that we were going to see so many different countries so quickly – and be on the road for eight months straight. It’s a long time to be away from home. But we’re excited because it’s giving us the chance to see fans from so many different countries and visit places we’ve never had a chance to explore. So by the time it kicked off we were all so ready to go. We’d spent such a long time preparing and working really, really hard.
We all decided to get fit for, and on, this tour.
We’ve got a trainer who travels with us. He’s intense – my back and chest are usually killing me after a session in the gym – but it makes me feel good, so it’s obviously making a difference.
Being on the road is brilliant in so many ways, but what I love above all is that we get to perform for our fans. Being onstage is always fun – it’s so loud and crazy – and the Take Me Home tour is so massive that we have the scope to do loads of new things: the stage is bigger than ever before, we have more songs to sing and we get to involve the crowd a lot more. It’s so important that we put our stamp on everything, because that’s what our fans like, so we had a lot of meetings and discussions about every aspect of the show.
I love performing all of the big party numbers that really get the crowd going, and it’s brilliant having our own live band. We’ve got a great support act in 5 Seconds of Summer. We found them on YouTube; they’re a bit younger than us and all play instruments – they’re a really cool new band. Plus it’s good to have another set of lads on tour. We hang around with them a lot backstage and we all hype each other up.
I’m always jumping up and down before a show because I’m really geared up and nervous. I brush my teeth right before I go onstage, for some reason, and we always have a big group huddle just before it starts.
That moment when we first walk onstage is indescribable. All the blood rushes to your head, your skin tingles and you feel like you’re on fire for about five minutes. The adrenaline is unbelievable.
On tour we do a lot of flying, so I probably spend more time in the air than I do on the ground, which is crazy considering that three years ago I’d never even been on a plane.
I don’t mind flying, but I do feel a bit like you have very little connection with the world, as you can’t phone anyone or go on the internet; you just have to watch the same movies over and over again, read or sleep. It can be relaxing, but it gets a bit boring after a while. I want someone to invent a teleporting device which means that you’re instantly transported to another country… Honestly, though, I’m not complaining – I know how incredibly lucky we are and we don’t take anything for granted.
We’re having the most incredible time on the road and it’s going to be weird not being on tour anymore when it comes to an end. If I’d been told three years ago that I would be near to completing a world tour I’d never have believed it. I already can’t wait for the next one – though we might need a bit of a break first!
I still can’t believe we’ve made our own movie. How crazy is that? It was really interesting being filmed constantly, on a daily basis. It was what I imagine being in the Big Brother house must be like.
The movie is great because it gives our fans the chance to see the in-between bits, when we’re not onstage or on TV. It shows what really goes on, and gives a massive insight into us as people. Viewers will get to see behind the scenes; what it’s like behind the glamour; how we are emotionally in different situations. They don’t usually get to see the real us, no holds barred. I was worried that people would find it boring – and that I’d be asleep a lot of the time – but it’s amazing how much was captured. The edit was a very long process!
It’s so weird seeing yourself on screen, let alone in 3D. Someday I’d love to do some acting, so I see it as a bit of a step towards that. I don’t know if becoming an actor is a realistic dream, but if I got the opportunity and a good role came along, I would love to do it. I’d really like to do something arty and weird, to show that I can act. People would probably expect me to want to do a big-budget gangster movie, but I’d like to try something edgy. I really like British films, so it would be very cool to do something along those lines.
I’m also really excited about the third album, because we’re doing more writing than ever before. We’re happy that we’ve been able to take it more in a direction of our own choosing, because we’ve had the opportunity over the past few years to hone our sound. It won’t be crazily different from the first two albums, because we love our sound, but we want to be able to put our own individual stamp on it too.
We have been having the most incredible time as a band since we’ve been together… and we want to carry on having fun and achieving. I’ve still got room in my cabinet for a few more awards… Bring it on.
Photoshoot while in Japan. 19 January 2013
LIAM: I think our friendships have changed massively, but in a really positive way.
Quick cuppa before the show in Glasgow! 26 February 2013
LOUIS: We honestly are best mates. I can’t imagine how it would be if we genuinely didn’t get on. It would make this job impossible. Even if there was one member of the band I didn’t gel with, it would be a nightmare. We’re so, so lucky.
On the set of Alan Carr! 28 September 2012
HARRY: We’re so much closer now. It’s crazy how much we know about each other. We got close pretty quickly and we could be honest and comfortable with each other from the word go, but now it’s like that times ten. We know when to make a joke or leave someone alone if they’re in a bad mood. We get each other. We know everything about each other’s families, and we feel like one big family ourse
lves.
The boys being interviewed on Daybreak. 5 October 2012
LIAM: We’ve always got on, but in the past we used to want a bit of time away; we don’t now. We bicker every now and again when we’re tired, but we get over it in a minute. We’ll go and kick a ball around and it’s all forgotten.
Food on the run. 31 October 2012
1D in Germany. 22 November 2012
Hello, Dublin! 6 March 2013
Muchas gracias, Espana!!! 31 October 2012
NIALL: I agree that our friendships are stronger now than they’ve ever been. I think it’s because we’re getting a little bit older and we can still be immature and silly, but we’re mature when we need to be. There are no cliques or anything; we all hang out together.
1D in Spain. 31 October 2012
LIAM: All the time. We’ll be at work all the time and Louis will say to me, “What are you doing tonight?” and we’ll do some crazy things. We’ve had a couple of times when we’ve done all-night writing sessions. We flew to Sweden for one day to do some songwriting and didn’t sleep at all. Harry’s always up for hanging out, Niall comes out a lot, and we spend a lot of time at Zayn’s house too.
1D in Italy. 1 November 2012
LOUIS: We spend loads of time together. It depends what mood you’re in, because we’ve all got different personalities. We kind of hang out with different people depending on how we’re feeling. For instance, if you want a laugh, Liam’s always up for a joke, and if you want to relax, Zayn’s always chilled out.
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