He rose to fame as one fifth of One Direction.
And Zayn Malik revealed Niall Horan was his favourite after he was asked who he thought had made the best music since the band disbanded and launched their careers as solo artists.
The singer, 28, appeared on SiriusXM on Thursday and was asked out of Harry Styles, 27, Niall, 27, Liam Payne, 27, and Louis Tomlinson, 29, ‘who would be number two?’
Rating: Zayn Malik revealed Niall Horan was his favourite when asked who out of his 1D bandmates he thought had made the best music since the band disbanded
Ranking Zayn at number one, hosts Mark Goodman and Alan Light asked the Pillowtalk hitmaker: ‘If you were in the back of your mind, comparing yourself to other members of the band, who would be number two?’
Zayn replied: ‘I don’t think it’s fair for me to say because I was in the band. I don’t think there’s a comparison.’
He then added: ‘I’ll tell you what. Niall’s my favourite, how about that? Niall makes the best music. There you go.’
Competition: The singer, 28, appeared on SiriusXM on Thursday and was asked out of Harry Styles, 27, Niall, 27, Liam Payne, 27, and Louis Tomlinson, 29, ‘who would be number two?’
To which the host replied: ‘Even better than you, Zayn?’
Zayn said sweetly: ‘I will say that. Yeah he makes better music than me. Yeah, I’m a Niall fan.’
Zayn’s career began when he auditioned as a solo contestant for The X Factor in 2010.
Fan: Zayn said: ‘I’ll tell you what. Niall’s my favourite, how about that? Niall makes the best music. There you go’ (Niall pictured in 2019)
Award-winner: Zayn didn’t pick Harry, despite picking up Best Solo Performance for Watermelon Sugar at the Grammys earlier this week (pictured)
Music: Louis (left pictured last year) and Liam (right in 2019) have also gone on to carve successful careers as solo artists
After being eliminated as a solo performer, the singer was brought back into the competition, along with Harry, Louis, Niall and Liam.
Zayn left the group in 2015 and was the first to launch a successful solo career after signing a contract with RCA Records.
The singer adopted a more alternative R&B music style with his debut studio album, Mind of Mine (2016).
Boyband: Zayn’s career began when he auditioned as a solo contestant for The X Factor in 2010, before being put in the band One Direction
He became the first British male artist to debut at number one in both the UK and US, with his debut single Pillowtalk and debut album.
In GQ Spain and India, the One Direction alum spoke for the first time since becoming a father.
He welcomed a daughter Khai with girlfriend Gigi Hadid last September.
In the wake of the release of his new solo album Nobody Is Listening, he confided: ‘It really is not easy to have some form of creative freedom or control.’
Malik went on: ‘The truth is that I have to continually go against the grain when people tell me to do things a certain way, but my stubbornness and my willingness to want to do things differently help me get through it.’
The British singer released his third solo studio album on January 15th and described it as his ‘most personal project to date’.
Doting father: Zayn recently spoke about becoming a dad after he welcomed a daughter Khai with girlfriend Gigi Hadid last September