Launched into the limelight as a member of One Direction back in 2010, nobody expected Zayn Malik — who parted ways with the band in 2015 to create some solo music that was much more mature — to delve into the country space with his fourth studio album, Room Under the Stairs.
Hitting all music streaming services on Friday (May 17), Zayn admitted in an exclusive interview with Nylon that he will be following in the footsteps of chart-topping superstars like Beyoncé, Post Malone, Lana Del Rey and more with his forthcoming record, leaning into a genre that he has yet to conquer in his career: country.
Making pop-packed music with One Direction, Zayn leaned into his grungy aesthetic — consisting of “bad boy” behavior, grafitti, tattoos and more — after parting ways with the band, releasing some songs that fell into the R&B scene while sharing some NSFW stories. Nowadays, the 31-year-old is embracing fatherhood and taking some time away from the spotlight by sequestering himself on his farm in Pennsylvania, caring for a throng of farm animals as well: chickens, dogs, cats, turtles and more. Naturally, his inspiration and style of music has shifted, deeming his new country-leaning lifestyle — as well as artists like Chris Stapleton and Willie Nelson — to be the inspiration behind Room Under the Stairs as a whole.
“I was pretty much on my farm having a glass of whiskey and listening to a bit of Stapleton by the fire with my dog, playing guitar,” Zayn explained when he was asked where the twangy sound of Room Under the Stairs came from. “I’m proud of it. I think it shows a certain level of intellect, to be a bit ahead of the curve… People need to know I didn’t jump on the bandwagon,” he added, ensuring Nylon that he came up with the sound of his fourth studio album his own, rather than chasing country music simply because that is what’s trendy in the year 2024.
In addition to the sound, Zayn admitted that both Chris Stapleton and Willie Nelson’s stellar storytelling were a strong influences while working on the record altogether:
“I could really hear their lyrics and their pain and their growth and the life lessons. I didn’t feel like there was a Chris Stapleton song that comes on and he sounds like a f***boy, right? He doesn’t do it! He’s not out here saying, ‘B*****s in the club! We’re drinking Bacardi!’ or whatever these young kids use now… He’s not like that. He’s got class, right? He’s telling you a real grown man’s story, and I respected the f**k out of it. I was like, ‘This is cool. It’s something I can do.’”
With the album’s fifteen songs said to consist of “warm, spacey soundscapes that give Zayn room to ponder the big life questions you start asking after a few beers late at night,” Room Under the Stairs has already been deemed the best album to come from the former boy band member by his friends, family and his team, before even being released to the public. Speaking of his team, one individual who helped contribute to this country-flavored record is the one and only Dave Cobb, one of the producers on Room Under the Stairs who has also won nine GRAMMY Awards and worked with individuals like Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile and more in his career.
“It’s a really beautiful thing to see an artist come to a point in their career where they’re like, ‘You know what? I’m just going to be me. I’m going to do everything I want to do,'” Cobb said about the soon-to-be “country” crooner. “I was just blown away because he was forging his own path. There’s nothing copycat about it. There’s all kinds of influences, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly where anything was coming from. I thought he was just making his own lane.”
Said to be country-leaning all while “making his own lane,” I cannot wait to hear what the overall sound of Room Under the Stairs will consist of when it hits streaming services on Friday. Promising songs that are “f*****g fire,” we will just have to wait and see whether or not if it is really country…