Global popstar shocks fans by making first TV appearance in years: ‘The king is back’
Posted by  badge Boss on Mar 14

has pleased his fans by making an unexpected return to TV.

The former singer turned up during ’s opening monologue on The Tonight Show.

He nonchalantly sauntered onto the stage with a slight smirk, and without saying a word he began to click buttons on Jimmy’s laptop until his new single, What I Am, began to play.

Before quickly exiting, Zayn, 31, passed Jimmy a note, which was read to the audience on his behalf.

‘Jimmy, look to your right for my album,’ it began. As instructed, he showed the vinyl of Room Under The Stairs.

He then revealed that the new single is out this Friday, and the album is coming on May 17. ‘Hope you’ll check it out,’ Zayn’s note concluded.

Zayn handed Jimmy a note (Picture: NBC / The Tonight Show)
Zayn didn’t say a word (Picture: NBC / The Tonight Show)
Zayn quickly exited again (Picture: NBC / The Tonight Show)

Although he didn’t utter a single syllable, the power of Zayn has meant that his supporters still went wild.

Jéss calls themself a number one stan and is even followed on X by Simon Cowell – the man who is partly responsible for putting Zayn in One Direction on The X Factor. They approved of Zayn’s silent promotional stunt and said four powerful words: ‘The King is back.’

‘@zaynmalik’s gonna rule this year for sure,’ added Kumar Apoorva.

Fans were excited to see Zayn on TV (Picture: X)
Predictions about the upcoming year were made (Picture: X)

Zayn shared a short clip of his moment on the American chat show on Instagram, and people were totally calm about it (that’s what I’d say if it were opposites day).

‘Zayns out here giving heart attacks,’ remarked Jus1.Sarah, who’s profile picture is Zayn.

‘OH MY GOD THIS ERA IS SOCIAL ZAYN,’ Izza calmly typed.

Zayn shared the clip on Instagram (Picture: Instagram)

The cameo is extra special as Zayn rarely posts on social media, or. This is a massive change compared to his boyband days when alongside , , , and , they were regulars on the press circuit. In 2015, Zayn decided to leave the band after five years and the band went on an indefinite hiatus later that year.

Zayn has only done one interview in six years, choosing the podcast  hosted by Alex Cooper, to

During the chat, he spoke about his daughter Khai who he shares with supermodel  – the pair dated on and off for six years, finally . As well as baffling some Americans with , the Pillowtalk hitmaker also revealed she would be mentioned in his new music, which he intends to give a more personal feel.

Zayn was in One Direction for five years (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Zayn left the band in 2015 (Picture: John Phillips/UK Press via Getty Images)

Zayn has previously released three studio albums. His most recent, Nobody is Listening, came out in January 2021. After over three years of waiting, fans are more than ready for the new music.

He began when he took to Instagram Live for just over 40 seconds. The shaky footage appeared to show Malik in a recording studio and featured short clips of two different songs. 

Soon, his Instagram was transformed with a blank canvas grid, a new profile picture and teasers for his upcoming release.

Zayn teased new music (Picture: Instagram/@zayn)

‘I think the intention behind this album fully is for the listener to get more insight on me personally as a human being,’ he informed his 52 million followers in another video.

‘My ambitions, my fears. And for them to have a connection with that. And that’s why it’s so raw, you know, it’s just me writing this. I didn’t want anybody else to be between me and the music and the music and the people listening to it.’

According to, Malik has spent ‘several years’ writing the material at his home in rural Pennsylvania. We’re ready to spend several years listening to it!