A track featuring recently departed One Direction singer Zayn Malik has been posted online. The leak by record producer Naughty Boy has angered fans and led to a Twitter spat with Louis Tomlinson. The track, titled 'I Won't Mind' was uploaded to Naughty Boy's SoundCloud page early this morning.
Zayn Malik quit the biggest boyband in the world last week, claiming that he wanted to be a "normal 22-year-old." He was pictured recently at a recording studio, increasing speculation that Malik is planning to launch a solo career.
The posting of the demo has sparked a furious reaction from loyal One Direction fans.
Leading the charge is outspoken member Louis Tomlinson. He tweeted Naughty Boy, calling him "inconsiderate" and accused him of trying to "wind up the fans." Naughty Boy tweeted a link to 'I Won't Mind' and said "Let the Music do the talking guys" after receiving a barrage of tweets. The Sun reports that when Zayn goes solo he will be with Simon Cowell, the manager and mind behind One Direction.
30-year-old Naughty Boy, real name Shahid Khan, has worked with a number of major artists in recent years.
His biggest hit came when he teamed up with Grammy award-winning artist Sam Smith on the number one single 'La La La'. In 2013, the producer took home 2 MOBO awards.
One Direction have vowed to continue as a four-piece following Zayn's departure. Niall Horan confirmed at the weekend that they have already sat down to discuss writing sessions for the new album. The group said in a statement last week that they plan to release a new album later in the year. Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles and Liam Payne are in the middle of their world tour, currently performing in South Africa.
Bookmakers are offering fair odds on who the next member of One Direction will quit. It was rumoured recently that Louis was making an exit to become a record producer and possibly take up a seat on the new series of The X Factor, which returns to ITV later this year. However, with the band on a world tour and a new album all but confirmed, this seems unlikely.