Zayn Malik became a father last weekend and returned to music tonight. The former One Direction singer and famed solo artist released the first single of his new era, “Better,” at midnight. The lyrics seemed to reflect on giving an on-off romance one more chance—something that may take real-life inspiration from his relationship with Gigi Hadid, his current girlfriend and mother of his daughter.
Hadid and Malik dated on-off for over four years. They split most recently in January 2019, only to get back together at the end of the year. Lyrics like “Just this one time hear what I’m tryna say / Know you might not feel quite the same way / But I love you / I tell you, I love you,” are consistent with that’s been reported and said publicly by Malik about his unwavering feelings for Hadid.
In May 2020, a source told Us Weekly that Malik always carried a torch for Hadid. “Zayn has always been so into Gigi and she’s always been such a big part of his life,” the source said. “Even when there were times that they weren’t a couple, the love was still very much there.”
Malik has kept a relatively low profile on social media over the last year. “Better” marks the most intimate look he’s given regarding his perspective on love and seemingly their relationship and journey as a couple.
The song comes one day after Malik announced the birth of his daughter with Gigi Hadid. “Our baby girl is here, healthy & beautiful,” he tweeted. “to try put into words how i am feeling right now would be an impossible task. The love i feel for this tiny human is beyond my understanding.Grateful to know her, proud to call her mine, & thankful for the life we will have together x”
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Here, the lyrics via Genius, with possible references to Hadid called out. You can also listen to the song below:
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Verse 1
Hope I only leave good vibes on your living room floor
It hurts so bad that I didn’t when you asked for more
Your dad probably loves me more than he ever did now
‘Cause I finally got out
Yeah, we’re finally knocked downPre-Chorus 1
‘Cause sometimes it’s better that way
Gotta let it go so your heart don’t break
‘Cause I love you
Yeah, baby, I love you
Just this one time hear what I’m tryna say
Know you might not feel quite the same way
But I love you
I tell you, I love you
Malik tweeted out that he loved Hadid in March 2019. (She did not respond publicly but remained single publicly and went on to date Tyler Cameron later that summer.)
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A source told Us at the time that “Gigi and Zayn still talk. She still has feelings for him, of course, but he has major issues and she knows they aren’t compatible. She’s still very single.”
In January 2019, when their most recent split was first reported, a source told Us that Malik had “a lot of his own issues that she couldn’t help him get through.”
A second source added, “She cut herself off from all her friends every time they were together. She focused all her time and energy on him, but it just got to be too much.”
Chorus
Why? Why wait to fight?
Give it a try
Or I’ll say goodbye while it’s right
Can we save tears in your eyes?
I’m making you cry
Why wait to hate, can we save love?
Verse 2
I fell in, I’m falling, I’m for you
I can’t let you fall through the floor too
It’s a gamble to take any more of you
(It’s a gamble to take-take more you)
Still in my mind sometimes, I must admit it
Like it’s a crime on trial, I got acquitted
Me and you wasn’t meant, we wasn’t fitted
Like it’s a glove, I hated to admit it
Pre-Chorus 2
‘Cause obviously we go back
So why would we ruin that?
In too deep, we’re rearranged
Now you wanna ask for names
We can’t let this fruit go bad
Saying things we can’t take back
In too deep, we’re rearranged
Say you feel the same
Hadid would go on to confirm she was dating Malik again in January 2020, when they were photographed out together on his birthday—and that clearly, her feelings for him were still there too. She has generally kept their relationship private this time around but shared a rare selfie of them kissing on July 31.
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Chorus
Why? Why wait to fight?
Give it a try
Or I’ll say goodbye while it’s right
Can we save tears in your eyes
And watching you cry?
Why wait to hate, can we save love?
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