Zayn Malik says alien asked him to quit One Direction in his dream

Zayn Malik has said that his decision to quit One Direction was sparked by an alien. The Pillowtalk hit-maker left the London-based band to pursue a solo music career in March 2015.

"An alien spoke to me in a dream," the 23-year-old told Glamour magazine when he was asked of the first instance he realised he wanted to pursue a solo music career. However, the singer did not say anything else about the dream.

In the candid interview, the former One Direction opened up about his childhood memories. Malik said his first celebrity crush were Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. "They're the same, right," he said.

Further, Malik stated that his first motivational song was Michael Jackson's Thriller, but admitted that he was a big fan of Bob Marley as well. The singer's first tattoo was that of his grandfather, Walter, and the first album he owned was Tupac's All Eyez On Me.

Malik's bizarre reason for leaving the band – consisting of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson – comes after he told Complex magazine in March that when he was with the band he felt like an outsider who was silenced and ignored.

"It was about denying the authenticity of who I was, and what I enjoyed about music, and why I got into it. That was always there," Malik said. "It was one of the things that wasn't going to go away, so I had to go away. I was frustrated with the band."

Malik also told the magazine that after leaving the group "it's nice to have the chance to speak. Now I get to talk about what I'm passionate about".