Zayn Malik might dig One Direction's newest tune, "Drag Me Down" ("Proud of my boys the new single is sick," the former bandmate tweeted on Saturday afternoon), but 1D's sound was never particularly up Malik's alley, Liam Payne has said.

During an interview with Nick Grimshaw on Radio 1 this morning (August 3), Payne spoke up about Malik's departure from the group in March, and explained that the solo artist always seemed destined for a different type of career.

"One Direction was never Zayn's sort of music, so he kind of always wanted to find something else," Payne said, according to Billboard. "If your heart's not into something, you can't just carry on doing it because of fame and stuff. You have to go and do what you want to do."

In March, Malik told The Sun that he believed he was doing right by his former fellow group members by bowing out of One Direction when it didn't feel sincere to keep pressing forward.

"I only ever tried to do it for the fans, and it was only ever for them...I’m only upset (because) I feel like I may have let them down in some sort of way," he said. "That’s the main thing that I don’t want to happen. t’s not that I’ve turned my back on them or anything, it’s just that I just can’t do that anymore because it’s not real to me."

Tell us what you think of Payne's remarks in the comments below!

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