Zayn Malik Makes First Public Appearance Since Leaving One Direction And He Looks Different

Zayn Malik attended the Asian Awards 2015 on Friday, April 17, making his first public appearance since exiting One Direction.

The former boy bander, 22, looked happy and handsome at the annual awards show, held at London's Grosvenor House Hotel. He posed for photos outside of the venue with mother Trisha Malik on his arm.

Malik wore a navy suit paired with a white collared shirt and a black tie for the fête. He also debuted a newly shaved head at the Asian Awards, sporting light stubble with his new 'do.

"He simply just fancied a change," a source close to the singer told Us Weekly of Malik's hair makeover. "No biggie. He’s in a great place."

Zayn Malik attends The Asian Awards 2015 at The Grosvenor House Hotel on April 17.
Credit: Dave J Hogan/Getty Image

The British singer had a rough few months before his abrupt departure from One Direction on March 25. Malik previously missed the band's appearance on the Today show and faced rumors of drug use following his absence. He went on to shoot down talk that he was cheating on his fiancée Perrie Edwards, and finally skipped out in the midst of One Direction's world tour last month.

The star, who has started working on his own solo projects, seemed to be in much higher spirits at the Asian Awards. His bandmates are moving on as well, as Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson shared their first official photo as a foursome this week. 

Payne took to Twitter on Monday, April 13, to share a One Direction update as the band continues to tour.

"1st day writing the album it's gunna be a great day!" he shared. "Huge day of writing so excited the team never stop!... Wonder what tomorrow's writing will bring." 

Liam @Real_Liam_Payne · Apr 13

1st day writing the album it's gunna be a great day!

206,627 retweets282,667 favorites

Liam @Real_Liam_Payne · Apr 13

Huge day of writing so excited the team never stop!

Liam @Real_Liam_Payne · Apr 13

Wonder what tomorrow's writing will bring

Bad Day For Directioners

It is a bad day for all of the "Directioners" today. 

On March 25, One Direction shocked fans by announced that Zayn Malik was officially leaving the incredibly successful boy band.

Malik -- who had previously taken off two tour dates due to "stress" following online rumors that he had cheated on his fiancée Perrie Edwards of Little Mix -- explained why he was parting ways with 1D on Facebook.

"My life with One Direction has been more than I could ever have imagined. But, after five years, I feel like it is now the right time for me to leave the band," Malik wrote.

"I'd like to apologise to the fans if I've let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart," he said. [Note: Plenty of fans are feeling let down, and are letting the whole world know on Twitter].

"I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight. I know I have four friends for life in Louis, Liam, Harry and Niall. I know they will continue to be the best band in the world."

One Direction Zayn Steps Away

No one could have expected One Direction to reach this level of worldwide fame – least of all Zayn Malik. 

Citing stress, the singer, 22, has taken a break from the On the Road Again world tour that is about to invade the Philippines for the weekend. 

Though Malik reached his boiling point when the media began accusing him of cheating on his fiancée, Perrie Edwards, a source who has been with the band since their X Factor days tells PEOPLE that he has always had a hard time dealing with the "intrusion" of fame. 

"Zayn was always the quiet one," the source says. "It's not like he is shy, as he could always talk to the other boys and he could talk to people his own age. It was more like he was under-confident. Almost like he didn't believe he should be there."

For the uninitiated, Malik and his fellow bandmates auditioned for The X Factor back in 2010 as solo artists before being eliminated from the competition. However, Simon Cowell thought that they would work better as a group and brought them back into the competition as 1D during the "boot camp" stage. 

At the time, Harry Styles and Liam Payne were getting the lion's share of lead vocals while Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson took a backseat. (Tomlinson, who is closest to Malik, didn't get any solos whatsoever during his time on The X Factor, which he later admitted was a "tough pill to swallow.") 

"Pretty quickly after Zayn got into the X Factor machine he realized that he didn't actually want to be famous and he was quite happy to hide behind the other boys," the source tells PEOPLE. "He would let Liam do the talking and wouldn't really speak in their group interviews." 

When One Direction was voted out of X Factor, winning third place, Malik "was so devastated he couldn't look anyone in the eye and was crying his eyes out. He is very sensitive." 

On the inevitable scrutiny that follows success, "he finds the fame more difficult to deal with than the others," the source continues. "Zayn finds the fact that everyone is looking at him all the time a bit much – and he has for years. Even at the start of the band he was finding it really hard to deal with the constant intrusion. They would be at the studio all day and then they would have to go out to nightclubs, so they never had any time to themselves. 

"Zayn would be like, 'I can't go because I'm too tired,' but the other boys would be out the door and looking for a good time. He couldn't be bothered and just wanted to stay in." 

Adds the source: "Basically, everything ran away from him and it all happened a little too quickly for him." 

For their part, Malik's bandmates " are really worried about him but disappointed he's not there," another source close to the band previously told PEOPLE. "Their main concern is they want him to get better. They don't want him to quit."