Zayn Malik reveals why he left One Direction

Former One Direction member Zayn Malik has revealed that he left the band because there was no room for him "to experiment creatively".

"If I would sing a hook or a verse slightly R&B, or slightly myself, it would always be recorded 50 times until there was a straight version that was pop, generic as f***, so they could use that version," Malik told mirror.co.uk.

Malik, who left Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles as a four-piece, has also opened up how he tried to be a part of their creative process and bring his influences in, but said his inputs were ignored.

"There was just a general conception that the management already had of what they want for the band, and I just wasn't convinced with what we were selling," he said, revealing that he wasn't 100 percent into the music that they were making.

As the band got more popular, it pushed more albums to claim that they were more involved in the writing process. But Malik claims that it wasn't always the case.

"It was music that was already given to us, and we were told this is what is going to sell to these people," Malik said.