This picture of Zayn Malik is going to stay in our heads from dusk till dawn.
The "PILLOWTALK" singer took to social media to share a rare snap of himself, showcasing his new hair do while teasing new music may be on the way. In the April 6 Instagram post, Zayn, sporting cornrows and a beard, is inside a recording studio playfully posing with his finger to his lips and looking off-camera as music producer Daniel Zaidenstadt vogues next to him.
And not only did the 30-year-old give fans a glimpse at his new look with his uncaptioned post, but the location of the picture sent followers into a frenzy.
Instagram users shared their excitement with one commenting, "ME PRAYING FOR THE NEW ALBUM," while another wrote, "Zayn's new music on it's way," with a teary eyed emoji.
Reposting the photo on his own account, Daniel wrote, "@zayn hooked me up with his own design for my new DJ project michael plasma!"
The picture comes five months after the former One Direction member released his first song in a year, sharing a cover of Jimi Hendrix's 1971 song "Angel" in honor of what would have been the late icon's 80th birthday.
"Being asked to collaborate to celebrate @jimihendrix 80th birthday was such an unexpected and huge honour," Zayn captioned his Nov. 25 Instagram post about the track. "I have so much respect and admiration for Jimi, his music and fans. ‘Angel' is out now - hope you love the track as much as I do. Happy 80th Jimi."
After departing One Direction in 2015—with remaining members Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Liam Payne disbanding the following year—Zayn took a short break from music before putting out his first solo album Mind of Mine in 2016. He has since followed up with Icarus Falls in 2018 and Nobody Is Listening in 2021.
In the last few years, Zayn has mostly kept a low-profile when it comes to talking about his time in the group, but recently shared which member lights up his world like nobody else—with their music.
The "Tonight" artist called Niall his "favorite" bandmate during an interview on SiriusXM's Debatable in 2021, noting, "He makes the best music."
"Yeah, he makes better music that me," Zayn added, "I'm a Niall fan."
And although fans will have to wait to see if new music is in the foreseeable future, one thing is for sure: Zayn is focused on daddy duty as he raises his two-year-old daughter Khai Hadid Malik with ex Gigi Hadid.
"It's a really different pace of life, but it's been really easy to adjust to, for sure," Zayn said on iHeartRadio's Valentine in the Morning in March 2021 about life as a dad. "I think that's the most surprising thing."