Billboard is celebrating the 2010s with essays on the 100 songs that we feel most define the decade that was — the songs that both shaped and reflected the music and culture of the period — with help telling their stories from some of the artists, behind-the-scenes collaborators and industry insiders involved.
Less than one year after leaving One Direction (and two months after 1D’s first album without him), Zayn unveiled his debut single, “Pillowtalk,” in January 2016. And while the first solo release from a former member of the world’s biggest boy band was sure to capture fan curiosity, endless headlines and social media buzz, there was no guarantee of success. After all, with the notable exceptions of Justin Timberlake and Bobby Brown, most boy band vets end up on the clearance shelf when it comes to solo ventures.
But Zayn was a bit different. “Being somewhat of a dark horse of the bunch, being the guy that left, he had an edge to him and mystery to him,” explains RCA Records co-president John Fleckenstein, who worked on the campaign to launch him as a solo star.
To that end, his solo sound leaned into his enigmatic image. Far removed from the bubblegum rush of early 1D or the band’s late-career pivot to more MOR adult pop-rock, Zayn’s sonic aesthetic was woozy alt-R&B dressed up with warped electronic flourishes. Plus, separated from four other competing singers, his voice was capable of a sonic richness few knew he possessed, which “Pillowtalk” handily demonstrates: one moment he’s soaring comfortably in an upper register, then next he’s dipping low to a soft, seductive caress.
The lyrics were equally libidinous (“In the bed all day/ F–king and fighting on”), revealing that, yes, like most young and famous people, Zayn had R-rated moments in his life – and for the first time, he didn’t need to hide it.
“We weren’t allowed to say certain things, or word [lyrics] the way we would want to,” Zayn told Billboard in a 2016 cover story about his 1D days. “I’d sit and wonder, ‘If the fans knew how it worked, what would they think?’ My argument was: People are more intelligent than that. They want to hear what’s real, so why don’t we write some stuff that we’re actually going through?”
“Pillowtalk” is just that, detailing the reckless abandon of attraction and the way a relationship can feel simultaneously feel like a “paradise” and a “war zone.” And with real-life girlfriend at the time Gigi Hadid starring in the steamy music video (which arrived the same day the song debuted), there was an added layer of authenticity – not to mention public interest. With a headline-grabbing video, candid lyrics and a progressive-yet-familiar radio sound, “Pillowtalk” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making Zayn the third British artist to debut at No. 1 in the U.S., and getting him to the chart’s top even before his former group, which never did so before going on hiatus later in 2016.
Related
“It was way bigger than we thought,” Fleckenstein admits. “Our projections on the downloads were pointing to a healthy first week, but within days of launch we knew it was going to be more than double [that].” It opened to 267,000 copies sold in its first week, plus 22.3 million streams. “It wasn’t just that he had a big fanbase, but that they were so engaged.”
That engagement didn’t wane; the song became a ubiquitous radio hit, setting the stage not just for Zayn’s career, but establishing that in the 2010s, former members of boy bands and girl groups could enjoy solo success – even at the same time as one another. With his four former bandmates each scoring top 40 Billboard Hot 100 entries within two years of the group going on hiatus and Fifth Harmony producing two legit solo stars (one of whom has topped the Hot 100 not once but twice), it’s clear that in the 21st century, the pop industry rulebook has been rewritten for alums of hitmaking pop groups.
Of course, for someone who left a highly profitable outfit at the peak of their popularity, defying music biz expectations was par for Zayn’s course. Says Fleckenstein: “He was determined to be himself in his music and determined to speak his mind and act the way he wanted to act.”
