One Direction: Dare to Dream: Life as One Direction (18 page)

Being in the studio there and recording with the RedOne team was brilliant because they’re so famous and have worked with so many massive artists. But
they were just nice, normal guys. The weather was warm and sunny, so we were in t-shirts and shorts and loving every minute of it. We went out to eat quite a lot.

We also did a lot of shopping over there. I love high-top sneakers and I bought loads of pairs because they’re so much cheaper there. They even cover sneakers in cling film so you can’t damage them when you pick them up, and I love the fact they have so much respect for their sneakers. I’ve always treated my sneakers well. I used to keep all of mine in boxes to keep them looking nice.

I bought a pair of limited edition, black Nike high tops that cost me around $300. I know it’s a lot but they’re amazing. They’ve sat at home in my wardrobe because I’m too scared to wear them.

I’m getting more used to traveling now. I hated flying the first time when we went to Spain, but now I don’t mind it at all. I did miss England a bit, though. I had a brilliant time and I’m looking forward to going away again, but I did feel happy when we landed back in the UK. But then we had the craziest experience when we got back to Heathrow. We were told that there were about 200 people waiting for us, so we were ready to sign autographs and things. But when we walked out this whole swarm of people came towards us, so we had to run back inside the airport. There was no plan, so we just held on to each other and ran. We only had Paul, our tour manager with us, as well as some of the airport security, so we just had to go for it. There must have been about 600 to 700 girls and my t-shirt and hair were pulled, and Louis had half of his hoodie ripped off. We ran into a car parking booth and locked the door and all these girls were outside the glass, looking in at us. It was a bit like a zombie film. In the end Paul had to call a police riot van and get us out. It was the most hectic thing I’ve ever been through in my life.

THIS IS IT!

The tour rehearsals for the
X Factor
tour went surprisingly well for me—even the dancing. My confidence has improved so much since Bootcamp and I can have much more of a laugh with the boys about it all. I ended up really enjoying it and we learned so much. We were really excited when we heard we were going on the tour, and it was as great as we hoped. It was like being on the show, but not as crazy. We got time off to shop, we got a chance to have a lie-in, and we got to hang out together and eat nice food. Then every night we got to go on stage and be pop stars. I honestly can’t think of anything better than that.

The reaction we got was unbelievable, and people of all ages were screaming at us all and having the best time. A year ago the thought of being on stage in front of that many people would have been enough to make me physically sick, but now I go out and walk around the stage and I feel so much more confident. It’s absolutely the best feeling.

We weren’t very demanding on the tour at all. In the dressing room shared by all the male performers we had a little basket which was filled with sweets, drinks, chips and fruit, but that was it. It was great sharing a room with the other guys from the show and getting to hang out with people like Aiden and Matt, because I love those guys. Aiden is a lot like me. He’s quite laid-back and reserved and we get on really well. I got on well with Wagner too. He’s very funny and has so many stories to tell. He kept everyone entertained and I used to make time just to hear his stories. In my eyes he’s a living legend.

We had quite a few hotel parties on tour. There was always a private bar where we could chill out and chat after shows, so that was a good time to catch up with people. It was nice doing things like that, and also just being myself and playing games. We all got our own rooms, so if we wanted to have time to ourselves, we could. So sometimes after shows I’d head to my room and chill out. I need that. Having time alone is how I keep myself sane.

Ireland was one of my favorite places to visit on the tour. They absolutely love
The X Factor
over there. Getting to play Wembley was wicked as well. I’d happily go on tour again tomorrow.

To me the most surprising thing about fame so far is that you don’t realize how recognizable you are. Louis and I wanted to go out the other night, but there was just no way as there were loads of people around, and if there’s more than one of you it’s much more likely you’ll get spotted. I went to the supermarket with my mom recently and because I wore a hat and glasses I didn’t get recognized until after I’d left. So there are ways around it if you’re on your own and you do want a quiet time.

It’s so weird because I’ll forget about everything and then someone will be like “It’s you.” And I’m thinking, “I’m just Zayn Malik, that kid from Bradford who used to stay in his room and play on the computer all the time.”

Press attention scares me a little bit as well. I worry about being seen as a bad person. Everyone makes mistakes, but when you’re famous it’s plastered everywhere. I don’t quite know how to deal with everything yet. I want to be open, but I’m still learning about how open I can be and who I can trust totally.

The maddest things have happened to us since the band kicked off. Rio Ferdinand’s invited us to his restaurant, we’ve got our own merchandise coming out, and we also filmed a Nintendo ad. We filmed it in a lovely hotel in London and it wasn’t at all forced, it was just us lot messing around and playing on DS and having a laugh. We had so many things happening, before we had even released our album, which was mad. We could not be more excited about making music and having it out there.

We had been looking forward to getting a book released, and when so many people went out and bought the first one and came along to book signings it made us realize how many fans we had. There wasn’t a dull moment during the
signings and we got masses of presents. We got chocolates and roses, and Liam even got some Play-Doh!

The book signings were some of the earliest promotional things we did, and we also did some photo shoots for various things, which I don’t mind at all because I’m a bit of a poser. We also went on the Alan Titchmarsh show, and that was even weirder for me than being on
The X Factor
. That whole experience had been such a blur, but this felt much more real and it really hit home that we were known and kind of famous.

The weirdest thing was when the Nintendo ad came on. I was at my friends’ house and seeing us on TV was crazy. I’ve only really got two close friends, Danny and Anthony; they love the fact that I’m famous and we stay in touch all the time.

We started working on the documentary earlier in the year. We didn’t find it nearly as strange as we thought we would, probably because we’d had cameras following us around all of the time on
The X Factor
and we’d been thrown in at the deep end back then. We’d had a lot of experience, so we didn’t freeze in front of the cameras, we were just ourselves. When you’re used to it you soon forget that the cameras are there. We just got on with it really, so what people see is what really happened.

The wrap party for the tour was an interesting one. Quite a few people were boogying and getting down, but I had a flight to Spain early the next day so I left by midnight and went to bed. My experience of the wrap party was tame compared to some of the other guys. I was sad to see the tour end, but going on holiday was wicked.

Recording the album was fantastic for me because I love anything to do with song lyrics and recording. I’d never been to Sweden before, so going there was a totally new experience, and it was such an amazing place. We also loved getting
to go back to LA, because the first time around we only got to spend five days there and we didn’t see a lot. This time we were there for three weeks, so we got to go out and see more places.

It feels so strange when I look back to before
The X Factor
, when I didn’t even have a passport and hadn’t been outside the UK. Now all of a sudden I’ve been to all of these amazing places. It’s weird but it’s wicked as well. I enjoy flying—it’s very cool.

As soon as we started recording music we were aware that people would be surprised by it, because it’s not typical boy band music. There’s nothing else out there like our sound at the moment. It’s completely new. It’s One Direction’s sound and we love it.

When we found out we were going to be doing our own tour we were so happy. For the first time it’s not just about
The X Factor
, it’s about One Direction. We’ve been given the chance to shine, and really show people how much we’ve improved and progressed since the show.

This whole year has been really interesting and a lot of fun, and I’m excited about everything that’s coming up, because there are going to be a few surprises here and there.

QUICKFIRE

DOB
: 1/12/1993

STAR SIGN
: Capricorn

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