New direction for Zayn
British songwriter/producer *Naughty Boy *is hoping to help *Zayn Malik *launch a solo career now the singer has left One Direction.
Malik announced his exit from the group last week, shortly after he walked away from their world tour because of stress, and later declared he had not been happy in the band for a while.
Although Malik, left, originally stated that he just wanted to be "a normal 22-year-old", Naughty Boy believes he could have a successful solo career after they previously worked on some tracks together.
"Me and Zayn became mates at the BRITs (BRIT Awards) and were in the studio every other day, He's going to be a really talented songwriter," Naughty Boy told Britain's Daily Star newspaper. "It's up to the producer to launch an act and give them their own career."
However, recent reports suggested music mogul *Simon Cowell *, who manages One Direction, would have the rights to his first solo material, which would be released through his record label Syco.
"Zayn is now the most in-demand solo artist in the world," a source told The Sun newspaper.
"There's huge excitement as he's the first member who will be able to release on their own. Simon was very understanding about him leaving the band but quickly made it clear he would stay a Syco artist for his future projects. He'll now be able to make sure any releases don't clash with anything by One Direction."
