I don’t know what happened to Zayn Malik. The first member of One Direction to leave the group was also first to release a solo record, “Pillowtalk,” and a hit album.
But now Zayn seems to be in a career free fall. His new single, “Sour Diesel,” a terrific slice of funk, was released last Friday and is dead on arrival. According to Buzz Angle, “Sour Diesel” has sold 2,200 copies so far. It hasn’t even appeared on the iTunes top 50.
This makes no sense. A recording star with half of Zayn’s recognition level would send a new song up the charts upon release in this day of streaming.
But this isn’t Zayn’s first flop. A single called “The Entertainer,” made it to number 95 somewhere in May. “The Entertainer” has sold 36,800 copes since May 23rd.
Malik has had a pretty tough time being a celebrity and a functioning recording artist. He suffers from anxiety and depression, reportedly, and doesn’t tour. On top of that, in April his manager Sarah Stennett, dropped him. A new album was supposed to be released in June, but it’s never shown up.
“Sour Diesel” is the name of a strain of marijuana. The song is great. The only reason that it could be dead is because Malik is in a fight with RCA over the new album being late. The label clearly hasn’t backed it. It’s also unclear who Zayn’s manager is now. Irving Azoff, this SOS call is for you!
