A performance that definitely stands out in our minds was the recent live performance by none other than Zayn Malik. Our beloved Zayn performed for the first time since 2016 for a one night only (“ONO”) performance at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire on May 17, 2024 in London, England. This performance was announced shortly before the release of his recent album ‘Room Under The Stairs’ which was released the same day as the performance. As you can imagine, getting tickets to this show was akin to absolute chaos due to the incredible amount of hype around seeing Zayn perform after so many years. The show included a set list of 6 songs from Room Under The Stairs including My Woman, Alienated, Birds On a Cloud, Concrete Kisses, Dreamin, and Gates of Hell.
To recap this show, one gracious attendee (Twitter/X user @llau_music) agreed to an interview about their experiences at the show.
- Where did you travel from to see Zayn perform?
I travelled from France.
- How long have you been a fan of Zayn?
I have been a fan of Zayn since 2020, so this was my first live performance of his.
- Can you tell us about a special moment from the show?
Prior to his performance we got to watch a small documentary about how Zayn made the album ‘Room Under The Stairs” which was very nice. Also, the people at the show are the only ones who have ever seen the documentary as he has not posted the video online.
- Were there any fan projects for the show?
Yes! We were supposed to light up our phones with a blue Room Under The Stairs sticker in front of the light so the lighting would be blue. But the venue asked us not to light up our phones at the beginning of the show so unfortunately that project was cancelled. The other project is we had printed hearts on pieces of paper that said ‘We are so proud of you’ which we held up during the last song and during the outro on Stardust.
- Did you get to meet friends or anyone you know from the fandom at the performance?
I did meet a lot of people I am mutials with on Twitter and Instagram at the show. I also met some new people who I became mutuals with after the show.
- As you know there is quite a bit of bracelet trading in our fandom as evidenced from the other boys’ shows, was there any at Zayn’s?
There was some bracelet trading at the show, yes. I did receive a bracelet dedicated to the song Dreamin; but unfortunately I did not have time to make bracelets for the show so I wasn’t able to take part in any other bracelet trading.
- What was your most memorable moment from the show?
Definitely the moment that he came on stage, when the curtain came down and I realised he was right in front of me. I cried tears. Seeing him in person he was so unbelievably beautiful and sang so well. He sounds even more incredible live than the studio version.
Also, a funny moment was during one of the songs Zayn said “You sing!” but since the song was so new, nobody knew the lyrics yet. I laughed so much as Zayn actually mentioned this moment in an interview he did after the show.
- Which song was your favourite from the performance?
Alienated was unforgettable! Since it was the only single previously released prior to the show, everyone knew the lyrics and everyone was singing along with Zayn. But also My Woman, the song on which he came on stage.
- Is there anything else that happened you would like to include?
I had never got to try Lucozade (which is referenced in Zayn’s song lUcOzAdE) previously as this drink isn’t available for sale in my country, and I got to try it for the first time being in England for the show.
We also received a bracelet from fan3 at the show which was so great. This led to us getting Zayn’s passkey in our phone’s digital wallet. I can’t wait to see how he’ll use them!
Thank you so much to Lau for agreeing to the interview and also generously sharing some photos they took at the show (included in this article)!.
I think it’s safe to say that Zayn’s performance was an unforgettable experience for fans who got to attend or even watched via livestreams. The fandom is ready for more from our favourite Bradford boy. Zayn has already been mentioning a tour in recent interviews so an era of Zayn live shows is incoming soon we hope!
