Simon Cowell ‘Not Interested’ In What Zayn Malik Says, But Interested In New Music

Simon Cowell, credited with being the mastermind behind British boyband One Direction, didn’t mince words when asked about Zayn Malik‘s erstwhile friendships with his former bandmates.

Simon Cowell On Zayn Malik

Malik caused a bit of a stir when he stated that despite his efforts to stay connected to the remaining One Direction members – Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan – they’ve basically shut him out.

“I had every intention of remaining friends with everybody, but I guess certain phone numbers have changed and I haven’t received calls from a lot of people,” Malik told Billboard for his profile earlier this month. “I’ve reached out to a few of them and not got a reply. Certain people have pride issues, but it’s stuff you overcome in time.“

Cowell, when asked about the comments, couldn’t be bothered to weigh in on them. He is, however, still curious about the music Malik will be putting out as a solo artist.

“I’m not interested in a single word he says, but I am interested in what he sings,” Cowell told Yahoo. “I’ve heard it, it’s good, he’s going to do well.”

While Malik is off launching his solo career, One Direction has gone on a hiatus – presumably in part so that Styles, Payne, Tomlinson and Horan can do their own separate projects as well. Cowell, who put One Direction together on Britain’s Got Talent, admitted that watching their music video for “History” – the last single before the hiatus – made him emotional.

“I just saw the video last night and, God, it makes you feel emotional. When that drops you’re going to see another lease of life for that record,” Cowell said. “I did get emotional watching it.”