UPDATE: On Saturday, Zayn Malik gave a shout-out to his former bandmates about their new single. “Proud of my boys the new single is sick,” he tweeted. “Big love.”
ORIGINAL STORY: Fab four! The boys of One Direction are officially moving on without former bandmate Zayn Malik.
Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson surprised fans with the release of "Drag Me Down" on Friday, July 31, releasing their first new single since Malik’s departure. The track made its way to Spotify and iTunes in the early hours of Friday morning, with the Brits promoting the release on Twitter.
"We couldn't wait for you to hear our new single, 'Drag Me Down,' so we released it early," Horan, 21, explained in a video on Twitter. "We are so thankful for all of the support we've had, so we decided to release the song for all of our fans."
The Directioners have indeed stuck by their idols through a tumultuous few months. After Malik's dramatic exit from the band and his choice to go solo, news broke earlier this month that Tomlinson, 23, is expecting a baby with his friend Briana Jungwirth.
Despite the turmoil, the remaining members of the boy band are still giving fans the pop music that they became famous for. The X Factor alums sing about love over a funky beat in "Drag Me Down," crooning, "All my life you stood by me when no one else was ever behind me / All these lights that can't blind me / With your love, nobody can drag me down / All my life you stood by me when no one else was ever behind me / All these lights that can't blind me / With your love, nobody can drag me down."
The new single comes just one day after Malik, 22, signed a new record deal with RCA. The newly solo star announced the agreement on Twitter on Thursday, July 30, writing, "I guess I never explained why I left , it was for this moment to be given the opportunity to show you who i really am! #realmusic #RCA !!"
Take a listen to "Drag Me Down" above!
