Zayn Malik Reveals Release Date For ‘Pillow Talk’; Says First Post-One Direction Single Is About Sex

Zayn Malik will be the first member of One Direction to release a solo single. The 23-year-old revealed on Twitter that his first new song, “Pillow Talk,” will be released Friday. Judging from the promotional art and the title, Malik is going in a more grown up direction.

“Pillow Talk” will be released Jan. 29 and will likely be available through most digital music stores. The shirtless photo isn’t the only indicator that Malik’s music will be more adult. The singer isn’t shy about the track’s subject matter. He told the Sunday Times that it’s about “dirty and raw” sex.

“Everybody has sex, and it's something people want to hear about,” Malik said (via BBC News). “It's part of everybody's life, a very big part of life! And you don't want to sweep it under the carpet. It has to be talked about.”

Though the singer hasn't said who inspired the song, he is rumored to be dating model Gigi Hadid, 20. The two have been spotted together several times over the last few months. E! Online speculates that Hadid's new "Z" necklace could even be a tribute to her alleged beau, but the couple hasn't confirmed their relationship.

Malik announced that he was leaving One Direction last spring in the middle of a world tour. Since then, he has expressed that he wants to take his music in a different direction. The Bradford, England, native previously explained that he wasn’t writing about his life experiences with One Direction, and it seems that’ll change on his solo record.

“We weren’t allowed to say certain things, or word [lyrics] the way we would want to,” he told Billboard earlier this month. “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?”

“Pillow Talk” will be released Friday, and his full album is expected in the spring.