A lot of fans suspected Zayn Malik's excuse for leaving the almighty One Direction was just a cover-up for his ultimate aim -- going solo.
And just three days after announcing he was leaving the world's top boy band because he wanted to be a "normal 22-year-old out of the spotlight," Zayn said in his first interview after dropping that bombshell he was already making moves for a solo career.
What happened to leaving the stress behind and wanting to be a normal bloke?
And this just in. We've just learned today (March 28) that Zayn's new solo material will be released on Simon Cowell's record label, Syco.
The label already owns the rights to distributing 1D music and secured an agreement with Zayn, said the Daily Mail.
"Simon was very understanding about him leaving the band but quickly made it clear he would stay a Syco artist for his future projects," said an insider to The Sun.
"He'll now be able to make sure any releases are timed so they don't clash with anything by One Direction."
Zayn announced March 25 he was leaving the chat topping boy band after five years. He walked out on the band's "On the Road Again" world tour on March 19, because of "stress," among other excuses.
1D scotched rumors of finding a replacement for Zayn and said they'd go on as a quartet.