Yesterday, One Direction fandom was rocked by the news that Zayn Malik has left the band. Hearts across the world were truly broken, mine included. Though I was anticipating the split, I never dreamed it would happen so early in the year. I was at lunch, mindlessly scrolling through Twitter, when I read the news. My stomach dropped to my knees. I was just in shock and sick at heart. What next?
I'll be honest. I have been thinking for a while now that when the bands' contact expires later this year, that the boys will decide go in their own directions. There has been so much publicity about tension in the group, the guys wanting to pursue their own careers, etc, that the a split almost seems inevitable. But I truly believed they would stay together until the end of the year. I felt we had at least that long. But now Zayn has left, paying major bucks to break his contract. Will this set a precedence? I certainly hope not.
There has been so much media drama in recent months over the fate of 1D. According to the media, there has been tension between Harry and Zayn recently. Apparently Zayn is sick of Harry lecturing him and Harry is tired of the lack of maturity Zayn has shown (especially in regards to the video that was leaked of Zayn and Louis lighting a joint in Peru last year, as well as Zayn leaving before a concert ended due to "illness"). Liam has been criticized in the media recently over his drinking. Zayn had the whole blow up over "cheating" on Perrie with a fan. Pictures of Louis kissing someone other than Eleanor were quickly explained as occurring after they broke up, but still caused a lot of speculation. The only one not involved in all the drama has been Niall.
I think the thing that saddens me the most is that what drew me to One Direction in the first place was the "brotherhood" and camaraderie that was portrayed since the bands' inception. Now, with all the media hoopla, I wonder how much of it was real and how much was for the benefit of the fans. I feel deep down it was real, at least in the beginning, but now that they are older and they travel separately, stay in separate hotels, etc, I wonder if they still feel "as close as brothers"? The loss of the illusion hurts almost as much as Zayn's leaving. At least for me.
Social media causes a lot of confusion, as well. First, it gives fans a sense of connection with the boys that really isn't there. We still only see what they want us to see. We don't have a real glimpse of their hearts and minds. Secondly, so much gets misconstrued by the fans and the press, so a lot of what is reported as fact turns out to be just perception. So, we really don't have the inside scoop that we think we do.
The whole thing just makes me sad. I feel for Zayn, because a lot of hurt led him to this decision, though I think it was in the works long before last week (see...social media makes me think I know more than I truly do). I really feel bad for Harry, Niall, Liam and Louis, though. They are the ones left behind. They are the ones that had no say in the decision. And they are the ones left to pick up the pieces and mourn the loss of what was. I wish them luck and pray they don't let this bring them down to the point of giving it up.
So....fans' hearts are breaking. The boys' hearts have to be breaking. So, where DO broken hearts go? Can One Direction and their fandom truly heal from this? Only time will tell......
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