Last night Zayn Malik revealed he and Gig Hadid welcomed a baby girl! The usually social-media-shy singer was the first to break the news on Twitter, confirming their first child together is “here, healthy and beautiful.”

“The love I feel for this tiny human is beyond my understanding. Grateful to know her, proud to call her mine, & thankful for the life we will have together x”

 

It feels like he’s bursting with excitement considering he doesn’t often share personal details online. We haven’t been told a name yet, but Gigi revealed their little girl arrived over the weekend, sharing her own snap of some miniature fingers. 

“Our girl joined us earth-side this weekend and she’s already changed our world. So in love.”

Yesterday morning, ahead of the baby reveal, Zayn shared his excitement about introducing his future kids to Harry Potter, while promoting a new HP mobile game he’s been testing out.

"I’ve always enjoyed Harry Potter. I think it was something I’ll introduce to my kids and so on and so on. I think it will be one of them that stays in the family for a very long time.”

 

Just 12 hours before we learned Zayn was a Daddy, we were getting reintroduced to Zayn the Zaddy. He made a big splash on Twitter with a teaser video for his upcoming single “Better.” I heard people say hot guys are instantly more attractive when they become dads — is that happening here?

Remember when Zayn first left One Direction and we thought he was going to be the next generation Justin Timberlake? Minus the goofy theatrics, of course. His debut solo single, “Pillowtalk”, went #1. His follow-up, “Like I Would”, was a solid banger. You’ve probably never heard of his third single “Wrong” ft. Kehlani, but I would recommend. Kehlani’s a Grammy-nominated R&B singer who was supposed to be a supporting act on Justin Bieber’s (cancelled because of COVID) 2020 tour. I thought that would be her big break, but her time is coming. I can feel it.

 

Back to Zayn, he finished 2016 with the Fifty Shades theme “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” with Taylor Swift. It was a stellar debut solo album run after breaking out of 1D. Unfortunately the next 3 years were full of forgettable singles, with his 2018 sophomore album receiving favourable reviews but a pretty terrible reception from fans. It’s important to note he was also struggling with anxiety, which was also one of the reasons he left 1D, and their constant live touring schedule, behind him. I can only imagine the massive success of his first solo album, and pressures to tour and promote it only exacerbated those issues. But I can’t pretend to have insight into that situation. What I do know is this was the era he became known more for being Gigi Hadid’s on-again, off-again boyfriend than a musician. 

Now he and Gigi, are very much on, and judging by his tweets about fatherhood, they’re very happy. When he wasn’t caring for his pregnant girlfriend in quarantine, he says he’s been playing video games, but more importantly, he’s been focused on music. “Better” premieres tonight at midnight and from the short teaser it sounds cleaner, more commercial than most of his recent releases. I smell a comeback. In the 15 seconds of the music video we’ve seen so far, it’s giving me “Pillowtalk” vibes. “Pillowtalk” has over a billion views on YouTube and starred Gigi Hadid. Maybe a pregnant Gigi will be the star of “Better.” It could be a sequel. “Pillowtalk” is when you’re first dating and you constantly want to rip each other’s clothes off. “Better” is when you’re expanding your family, and your relationship is stronger than ever. I’m probably wrong, but that would be very meta. 

Will the new music video have that cliché end card at the end revealing his daughter’s name? I mean, coinciding her birth announcement with the start of your next era can’t be a coincidence. I wonder what Gigi and Zayn will name their daughter. I can see them picking something Kim&Kanye-style unique, or something significant to their respective cultures. Any suggestions?