ZAYN admits he didn't allow himself to enjoy his stint in One Direction that much while he was actually a member of the band, but now, he looks back on it a bit more fondly — especially since it's given him a certain status among the younger members of his family.
Speaking to Apple Music 1's Zane Lowe, ZAYN says, "Now, when I look back at [1D] as a grownup man, I see that there was missed opportunity there for me to have more fun, but I also look at it and think, 'I did have a lot of fun too.' And I'm really grateful for the experience I had with the lads in the band, and I think we did some amazing things that I'm really proud of in my life."
"And also, with having a daughter, and now I've got a niece and I've got a nephew, my niece is four years old, and she loves One Direction," he continues.
"She watches all of our old stuff, and she just thinks I'm the coolest person ever because I was in One Direction," notes ZAYN. "So, to me, I'm like, 'Yo, this has got a whole new level of cool street cred with the young ones.' So, I'm really grateful, man, and proud that I was involved. Do you know what I mean? I look at it in a different way now."
ZAYN has just released his new album, Room Under the Stairs, as well as a video for one of its tracks, "Stardust." On Friday, May 17, he'll have his first-ever live solo performance at London's O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire. On May 21, he'll do his first TV performance in eight years on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.