One Direction release first single without Zayn Malik

Portia Arthur 12:39 - 01 August 2015

one Direction

Zayn Malik has announced the reason he left One Direction was to make “real music”. The rest of the group have released their first single as a four-piece

Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne all took to Twitter to announce the release of their single, "Drag Me Down".

One Direction’s official Twitter account then posted a video of the boys introducing their new song.

Liam, 21, wrote: “Bit of a surprise! Check out our new single! It’s called Drag Me Down... I hope you love it as much as we do.”

Niall, 21, said: “Finally we get to say this! Have waited a long time but our new single Drag Me Down is out!”

The single is the first from the boyband’s fifth album, which is set for release later this year, and the first track since 22-year-old Zayn’s departure in March.

Meanwhile, having recently signed a solo deal with RCA records, Zayn said: “I guess I never explained why I left, it was for the moment to be given the opportunity to show you who I really am! Real music...”

Zayn Malik is in the good company as RCA who represents some huge artists including the likes of Justin Timberlake, Shakira and Alicia Keys.