AceShowbiz -

Amidst heavy media coverage on his decision to leave One Direction, Zayn Malik finally breaks his silence and tells all about the reason that prompted his exit. In an exclusive interview with U.K. newspaper The Sun, he confessed to be surprised by the worldwide reaction of him departing from the band.

"It is crazy and wild and a bit mad," so admitted the 22-year-old singer. "But at the same time I've never felt more in control in my life. And I feel like I'm doing what's right - right by myself and right by the boys, so I feel good."

"I did try to do something that I wasn't happy doing for a while, for the sake of other people's happiness," he recalled. "I feel like I've let the fans down but I can't do this anymore. It'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 the real me."

During the interview, he took time to put to rest false reports of him leaving the band due to tension with bandmates, including Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, and Niall Horan. He claimed those reports "couldn't be more wrong," adding, "My band has been really supportive. They've been cool about it. And they understand that, you know, it's not real to me anymore." Malik, furthermore, told the publication that his fiancee Perrie Edwards had been very supportive of his decision.

When asked about him being spotted visiting a recording studio the day after he announced he was leaving One Direction, Malik admitted he's working on a solo project with the help of producer Naughty Boy. Even greater, he informed The Sun he's also experimenting with rapping.