Zayn Malik

Solo Artist

Active 2010-present
Albums 5
Tracks 82
Most frequent collaborator Zayn · 79 tracks
Genres PopR&BAlternative R&B
Complete Artist
96%
Authorship

Holds writing credit on 79 of 82 tracks

Does Zayn write his own songs?

Almost all of them. He is credited on 79 of the 82 tracks across his five solo albums. The three he is not on come from Room Under the Stairs and Konnakol, the two most recent records.

By the Numbers

5
Studio Albums
82
Tracks Credited
96%
Self-Written
16
Years Active
153
Collaborators

Authorship Breakdown 79 / 82 self-written

Who wrote the songs?

Across all 82 tracks: how many Zayn Malik wrote alone, how many they co-wrote, and how many were written by others. The bracket marks every track they hold any writing credit on.

Zayn Malik has a writing credit96%
96%
4%
Sole author0tracks0%
Co-written79tracks96%
Outside writers3tracks4%

Role Fingerprint how they contribute

Lyricist Performer Composer Producer
Zayn Malik's roles across the catalogue

Share of all 82 tracks where they are personally credited, by role.

Lyricist (words)0%
Composer (music)96%
Producer0%
Performer100%

Authorship Over Time writing credit per album

Zayn Malik's writing credit per album, in release order. Hover any bar for the album.

avg 96%
100%
100%
100%
87%
93%
2016Mind of Mine
2018Icarus Falls
2021Nobody Is Listening
2024Room Under the Stairs
2026Konnakol
Early · 100% written
Late · 90% written

Authorship by Decade track-weighted

100%
2010s
Mind of Mine, Icarus Falls
93%
2020s
Nobody Is Listening, Room Under the Stairs +1 more

Authorship Spectrum pure performer to complete author

Where Zayn Malik sits on the scale from a pure performer (0%, sings songs written by others) to a complete author (100%, writes everything). The bright marker is their catalogue authorship score, plotted against other artists on the site.

Zayn Malik
Other artists on the site

Reference artists spread across the scale, closest by genre and era.

Pure Performer0%
Songwriter~50%
Complete Author100%

Who Really Wrote the Hits signature songs

Pillowtalk
Mind of Mine
Written by Zayn, Levi Lennox, Anthony Hannides, Michael Hannides, Zain Javadd Malik
Co-wrote
Let Me
Icarus Falls
Written by Zayn, Khaled Rohaim, Michael Hannides, Anthony Hannides, Alan Sampson, Zain Javadd Malik
Co-wrote
Better
Nobody Is Listening
Written by Zayn, Lucky Daye, Dustin Bowie, Michael McGregor, Cole Citrenbaum, Philip von Boch Scully, Zain Javadd Malik, David Brown
Co-wrote
What I Am
Room Under the Stairs
Written by Zayn, Daniel Zaidenstadt, Zain Javadd Malik
Co-wrote
Die for Me
Konnakol
Written by Victor Thell, Nick Hahn, Isaiah Tejada, Jordan K. Johnson, Linnea Södahl, James Essien
Outside writers

Discography 5 albums

Collaborator Network who they worked with most

Photo of Zayn MalikZayn Malik82 tracks
Z79Zayn, 79 tracks M21Malay, 21 tracks AO14Alexander Oriet, 14 tracks DP14David Phelan, 14 tracks S14Saltwives, 14 tracks Photo of Dave Cobb14Dave Cobb, 14 tracks DZ13Daniel Zaidenstadt, 13 tracks ME10Mikky Ekko, 10 tracks M9MakeYouKnowLove, 9 tracks MH7Michael Hannides, 7 tracks AH6Anthony Hannides, 6 tracks JH6James Ho, 6 tracks CW5Chase Wells, 5 tracks JG5James Griffin, 5 tracks KR5Kevin Rains, 5 tracks JE5James Emerson, 5 tracks SW5Salvador Waviest, 5 tracks X5XYZ, 5 tracks HL4Harold Lilly, 4 tracks AS4Alan Sampson, 4 tracks KR4Khaled Rohaim, 4 tracks JR4James Ryan Ho, 4 tracks HC3Herbie Crichlow, 3 tracks JN3James Norton, 3 tracks HA3Henrique Andrade, 3 tracks JK3Jordan K. Johnson, 3 tracks LL2Levi Lennox, 2 tracks TS2Terrence Smith, 2 tracks HS2Herbert St. Clair Crichlow, 2 tracks KO2Katheryn Ostenberg, 2 tracks JW2Jayson Warner, 2 tracks AB2Alexandre Bursztyn, 2 tracks G2German, 2 tracks OP2Oliver Peterhof, 2 tracks RM2Ricky Montaner, 2 tracks RR2Ricardo Reglero, 2 tracks IT2Isaiah Tejada, 2 tracks TM2the Monsters & Strangerz, 2 tracks K1Kehlani, 1 track KP1Kehlani Parrish, 1 track MY1Make You Know Love, 1 track A"1Antonio "Dopamine" Zito, 1 track MM1Maxwell McElligott, 1 track AS1Ava Stokes, 1 track BN1Bach Nguyen-Tran, 1 track F1FrancisGotHeat, 1 track BC1Brandon Colbein, 1 track JN1James Newman, 1 track FW1Freddy Wexler, 1 track FW1Fredrick Wexler, 1 track JG1Joseph Garrett, 1 track DG1Dan Grech-Marguerat, 1 track MK1Matthew Kirkwood, 1 track SB1Sonny Bono, 1 track S"1Salvadore "Sonny" Bono, 1 track RC1Robert Cavallo, 1 track IN1Iliana Nedialkova, 1 track EK1Emanuel Kiriakou, 1 track TM1The Monsters and the Strangerz, 1 track JA1Jessica Ashley, 1 track CC1Clarence Coffee Jr., 1 track JA1Jessica Ashley Karpov, 1 track SD1Sam Dew, 1 track SD1Samuel Dew, 1 track NM1Nicki Minaj, 1 track TA1Tushar Apte, 1 track S1Sawyr, 1 track BL1Brian Lee, 1 track B"1Brittany "Chi" Coney, 1 track D"1Denisia "Blu June" Andrews, 1 track BD1Brian D Lee, 1 track T1Timbaland, 1 track AL1Angel Lopez, 1 track FV1Federico Vindver, 1 track TM1Timothy Mosley, 1 track UW1Unicorn Waves, 1 track LD1Lucky Daye, 1 track DB1Dustin Bowie, 1 track MM1Michael McGregor, 1 track CC1Cole Citrenbaum, 1 track PV1Philip von Boch Scully, 1 track DB1David Brown, 1 track on Santana's page K1Khalid, 1 track RV1Ryan Vojtesak, 1 track KR1Khalid Robinson, 1 track CH1Charlie Handsome, 1 track RC1Rogét Chahayed, 1 track SR1Scribz Riley, 1 track NC1Nija Charles, 1 track DD1Darnell Donohue, 1 track MO1Michael Orabiyi, 1 track S1Syd, 1 track NE1Nicholas Eaholtz, 1 track JO1Jay Oyebadejo, 1 track DR1David Rosser, 1 track SB1Sydney Bennett, 1 track ND1Nicky Davey, 1 track JK1Jay Kurzweil, 1 track TR1Talay Riley, 1 track RK1Roger Kleinman, 1 track ZS1Zachary Seman, 1 track ND1Negin Djafari, 1 track NF1Nikki Flores, 1 track RT1Rickie Tice, 1 track K"1Kimberly "Kaydence" Krysiuk, 1 track DH1Dan Henig, 1 track RH1Rubén Hernandez, 1 track SG1Samik Ganguly, 1 track KK1Kimberly Krysiuk, 1 track RB1Red Buttonz, 1 track S1Symphony, 1 track D1Devlin, 1 track ND1Nat Dunn, 1 track TR1Theodore Rubin, 1 track JD1James Devlin, 1 track ND1Natalie Dunn, 1 track E1Ernest, 1 track DH1David Harris, 1 track JD1Jacob Durrett, 1 track RB1Ravi Badayuni, 1 track SB1Shakeel Badayuni, 1 track ES1Ernest Smith, 1 track DR1David Ryan Harris, 1 track GS1Gian Stone, 1 track JG1James Ghaleb, 1 track SD1Sean Douglas, 1 track CS1Casey Smith, 1 track CL1Carter Lang, 1 track RM1Rodaidh McDonald, 1 track DW1Daniel Wilson, 1 track KL1Kareen Lomax, 1 track FH1Francisca Hall, 1 track CB1Conor Blake, 1 track JS1Jesse Shatkin, 1 track SJ1Stefan Johnson, 1 track M1Mozella, 1 track TM1The Monsters & Strangerz, 1 track MM1Mau Montaner, 1 track MR1Mauricio Reglero, 1 track RD1Ryan Daly, 1 track RM1Riley McDonough, 1 track CM1Connor McDonough, 1 track C1Castle, 1 track RW1Ryan Wheeler, 1 track JO1Jordan Orvosh, 1 track TP1Tayla Parx, 1 track JS1JP Saxe, 1 track TC1Trey Campbell, 1 track VT1Victor Thell, 1 track NH1Nick Hahn, 1 track

Bubble size = tracks worked on together. Showing the 150 most frequent of 152. Z Zayn · M Malay · AO Alexander Oriet · DP David Phelan · S Saltwives

Photo credits

Portraits in the web and the rail come from Wikimedia Commons. The artist's own photo carries its credit under the picture.

The Authorship Story

Data Insight

He is credited on 79 of his 82 solo tracks. The three exceptions are on Room Under the Stairs and Konnakol, the two most recent albums, which is where the writing rooms open up. Malay is his longest-running partner at 21 tracks, spanning the debut and the 2026 album, with Alexander Oriet and David Phelan on fourteen each in the middle years.

Quick Facts

  • FromBradford, West Yorkshire, solo since 2015
  • Self-writtenCredited on 79 of his 82 solo album tracks
  • Number one"Pillowtalk" topped the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK chart
  • Longest albumIcarus Falls runs 96:22 across 27 tracks
  • Closest collaboratorMalay is credited on 21 of his tracks
  • Unique recordThe only artist to win Billboard's New Artist of the Year twice

Creative Fingerprint

A writer on nearly everything he has released solo, with one producer, Malay, bookending the decade at either end of it.

The Story

Zayn Malik left One Direction in 2015 and had a Billboard Hot 100 number one with "Pillowtalk" within a year. Five solo albums have followed, from the alternative R&B of Mind of Mine to the country and soft rock of Room Under the Stairs. He is the only artist to win Billboard's New Artist of the Year twice.

Awards & Recognition

American Music Award
MTV Video Music Award
Billboard Music Award, New Artist of the Year (2017), having also won it with One Direction in 2013

Frequently Asked Questions Zayn Malik

Does Zayn write his own songs?
Almost all of them. He is credited on 79 of the 82 tracks across his five solo albums. The three he is not on come from Room Under the Stairs and Konnakol, the two most recent records.
Who wrote "Pillowtalk"?
Zayn with his co-writers on Mind of Mine. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and in the UK, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and Sweden.
How many solo albums has Zayn released?
Five: Mind of Mine in 2016, Icarus Falls in 2018, Nobody Is Listening in 2021, Room Under the Stairs in 2024 and Konnakol in 2026.
Which is his longest album?
Icarus Falls, a double album running 96:22 across 27 tracks, more than twice the length of anything else he has made.
Who does he work with most?
Malay, credited on 21 tracks across Mind of Mine and Konnakol. Alexander Oriet and David Phelan appear on fourteen each and Daniel Zaidenstadt on thirteen.
How did his sound change on Room Under the Stairs?
It moves to soft rock, soul and country, with Dave Cobb among the producers. His first three albums are pop and R&B.
What awards has he won?
An American Music Award, an MTV Video Music Award, and Billboard's New Artist of the Year in 2017. He had already won that same award with One Direction in 2013, which makes him the only artist to take it twice.
What is his real name?
Zain Javadd Malik, born in Bradford in 1993. He records as Zayn.
Which of his collaborations charted highest?
"I Don't Wanna Live Forever" with Taylor Swift reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Dusk Till Dawn" with Sia reached number five in the UK.
Was he in One Direction?
Yes, until 2015. His One Direction work is credited to the group and is not counted in the figures on this page.

Sources