Zayn Malik on Leaving One Direction: 'No One Can Say I Was Ungrateful'

Zayn Malik goes shirtless in this brand new photo shoot with Complex magazine’s April/May 2016 issue.

Here’s what the 23-year-old singer had to share:

On feeling like he lost authenticity in One Direction: “That was something that was always underlying, and ended up as the main factor of me leaving in the end. It was about denying the authenticity of who I was, and what I enjoyed about music, and why I got into it. That was always there. It was one of the things that wasn’t going to go away, so I had to go away.”

On being called ungrateful: “No one can ever say I was ungrateful, even though it sort of comes across that way when I mention that I was frustrated with the band. That’s not the case at all. That was just an experience that had to be dealt with at the time. With the music that I’m doing now, I get to express myself, and that creative tension is gone.”

On being labeled the “mysterious one” in 1D: “In terms of me being described as the mysterious one, that was put on me as a stigma because I didn’t get the chance to speak as much. The other boys’ personalities were much more forward. They would answer the questions. I would let that happen because, like I said, I didn’t have any creative input there. I didn’t feel like I was going to say anything about it anyway. Now I get to talk about what I’m passionate about�”it’s nice to have the chance to speak.”

For more from Zayn, visit Complex.com.