Last night Zayn Malik shared a new rendition of One Direction’s most known song, sparking reunion rumours for 2025 in the wake of Liam Payne’s tragic death

Just last night, Zayn Malik dropped a new rendition of one of One Direction’s most known songs, hinting at a much-needed reunion following the death of band member Liam Payne.

Zayn Malik took to Instagram to share a voice note sampling a new rendition of One Direction hit That’s What Make’s You Beautiful. Uncaptioned, the simple recording has added fuel to the already-sparked rumours of the beloved band reuniting following the early death of former-member Liam Payne, 31, last year.

The recording sharing Zayn’s emotional version of the 2011 global song elated his 53.8 million fans who have been speculating the remaining four members reuniting after Payne’s death on October 16th, 2024. Swarming to social media, one fan wrote that “the bare thought of Zayn randomly singing 1D songs makes my heart swell;” a fan account of Malik adding: “I NEEDED THIS TODAY, thank you for blessing my ears”. Many have guessed that this must be a hint towards the band coming back together in in 2025 – something that has been supposedly in the works for years.

Zayn Malik paid a heartfelt tribute to band mate Liam Payne following his tragic death, sharing a pic of the pair cuddled up whilst travelling ( 
Image:
zayn/Instagram)
Zayn’s soulful take has also been reposted on X (Twitter) alongside a GIF of a person falling to their knees, receiving over 45,000 views in last 20 hours. A fan going so far as to admit: “I thought I was hallucinating”. Being the first to leave the band in 2015 in favour of a solo career, Malik has been subjected to the brunt of reunion wishes for the past decade and has opted for a more mysterious approach to celebrity – as was his assigned role in the band.

As the most rare to be seen on social media compared to his fellow bandmates, the 32 year old singer has barely acknowledged his days in One Direction, now mostly known with his on-and-off-again relationship with ex and mother to his child, Gigi Hadid. Therefore, fans believe his choice in both recording and publicly sharing himself singing a 1D throw-back must have significant meaning, perhaps suggesting a new nostalgia and heartache towards his old band. Others suggest the classic is Zayn’s way of paying homage to Payne – whose unexpected death resulted in three charges, all of which have now been dropped.

Another indication towards a rekindling between 1D’s members was the spotting of Louis Tomlinson at Malik’s concert at the end of January this year. Louis, 33, who has never been shy from sharing his disappointment and anger at Zayn’s ‘breaking up the band’, left fans visibly shaking after he made a surprise appearance during the Stairway to the Sky tour. The singer was reported to have let bygones be bygones after the tragic shock of Payne’s passing effecting them all.

The Pillow Talk singer shouted out his old co-member, saying: “Tonight’s kind of special. An old friend of mine is here for me tonight. He’s hidden somewhere here… I don’t want to give his location away, but Louis is here tonight,” which was met by a round of screams and applause. Malik added: “Let’s make these last couple of songs special for Louis, yeah?” clarifying for any who could not see the Back To You star.

One fan shared they were “shaking so bad;” another adding they “honestly never thought this would happen again;” one commenting “Don’t f**k with me,” in disbelief; and audience member spotting “them leaving together,” added: “My heart can’t take this!!! How is it even happening!!!!!! Literally so happy!!!”; and one predicted a “Zouis [Zayn and Louie] selfie incoming,” stating that “If we get a Zouis selfie, I won’t survive! Its happening!! I’ve prayed for this for so long”.

The pair reunited after a long time during the private funeral for Payne in November. Malik had delayed the opening of his Tour following the accident in October, but did not cancel it entirely. During his song Stardust, Zayn honoured Payne by having a blue screen projected on stage reading: “Liam Payne 1993 – 2024, love you bro,” accompanied by a red love heart. Though there has been no official confirmation from Zayn, Louis, Harry Styles or Niall Horan, fans have expressed and awoken hope for the band to come together once more. With the resurgence of boyband nostalgia and documentaries, and the soon-approaching Oasis tour, 2025 appears to finally be right time to reunite.