Naughty Boy hopes to launch Zayn Malik's solo career

British songwriter/producer Naughty Boy is hoping to help Zayn Malik launch a solo career now the singer has left One Direction.

Malik announced his exit from the group on Wednesday (25Mar15), shortly after he walked away from their world tour due to stress, and later declared he had not been happy in the band for a while.

Although Malik originally stated that he just wants to be "a normal 22 year old," Naughty Boy believes he could have a successful solo career after they previously worked on some tracks together.

Naughty Boy tells Britain's Daily Star newspaper, "Me and Zayn became mates at the BRITs (BRIT Awards) and were in the studio every other day. He's going to be a really talented songwriter. It's up to the producer to launch an act and give them their own career."

However, recent reports suggest music mogul Simon Cowell, who manages One Direction, will have the rights to his first solo material, which would be released through his record label Syco.

A source tells British newspaper The Sun, "Zayn is now the most in-demand solo artist in the world. There's huge excitement as he's the first member who will be able to release on their own. Simon was very understanding about him leaving the band but quickly made it clear he would stay a Syco artist for his future projects. He'll now be able to make sure any releases are timed so they don't clash with anything by One Direction."