- Music
- 20 Mar 15
"He probably just wants a rest," the X Factor judge says of Malik. "He'll probably chill out for a week or two and then want to go back."
Speaking to SPIN 1038 today, Louis Walsh has given his verdict on Zayn Malik leaving One Direction's world tour to recover from stress. It means the boy band will perform as a quartet in Jakarta and Manila.
Malik had been photographed holding hands with a woman in Thailand this week, resulting in a Twitter apology to his fiancée Perrie Edwards of Little Mix.
"I don't know if he's going to leave the band full-time or not," said Walsh, "but I know they've a gruelling schedule all around the world. So I'm not surprised... The pressure is too much. You just don't have any private life.
"Nowadays you can't hide because people have phones everywhere you go and it's right across the world in five minutes.
"He probably just wants a rest. He'll probably chill out for a week or two and then want to go back. It's fine."
Walsh wondered whether One Direction will continue for much longer anyway, considering they formed in 2010 and manufactured boy bands are not renowned for their longevity.
"Both of them [Zayn and Perrie] are lucky people. They are so lucky that they went on X Factor and were put into these bands. Luckiest people in the world. You can't stop them having a relationship. You can't stop people doing things any more. If they want to do it, do it. The problem with bands like this is that they have a shelf life of maybe five, six years. Then the cracks set in and someone wants to be a solo star. Harry is going to be the big solo star in this band, there's no doubt about that."
The X Factor judge said that even if Malik did not return, One Direction could continue until Harry Styles decides to go solo.
"Absolutely. It's not the end of the world, it's not the end of One Direction. It's just someone having a bit of a breakdown... The shelf life is short. The kids grow up and move on to something else."
One Direction play three dates in Dublin's 3Arena, October 16 – 18