Zayn Malik’s fourth studio album, Room Under the Stairs, is officially out — and it may feature a nod to his ex Gigi Hadid and their daughter, Khai.
Malik, 31, emotionally sings of a strained relationship in the song “Shoot At Will.” Following the track’s Friday, May 17, release, some fans began to speculate that it may have been inspired by Malik and Hadid’s past relationship.
“When I look at her, all I see is you / When you look at her, do you see me too?” Malik sings in the first verse, seemingly referencing Hadid, 29, and Khai, 3.
One fan used the lyrics as a soundtrack while sharing photos of Malik with his ex and daughter via TikTok. Another fan wrote via X that the song is “Zayn’s closure in regards to that relationship,” adding, “We experienced everything that happened the past few years from his pov.”
Malik and Hadid began their on-and-off relationship in 2015 and welcomed Khai five years later. The pair split for good in 2021 following an incident with Gigi’s mother, Yolanda Hadid. Us Weekly confirmed in October 2021 that Malik had been charged with four criminal harassment offenses after allegedly striking and insulting Yolanda, 60, one month prior.
After denying the allegations, Malik pleaded no contest to the charges and was ordered to serve a 360-day probation and complete anger management and domestic violence programs.
In “Shoot at Will,” Malik hints at having lingering feelings for a former love, as he sings in the bridge, “Does it not occur to you? / Do you not prefer the truth? / I was in love with you / Though I didn’t show the proof.”
He adds in the track’s second verse: “I hold my hands up for the firing squad / And if you want, you can take it all / I don’t really know, I can’t give no more / Shoot at will / Because she shoots to kill, yeah / And I’m dyin’ inside.”
Earlier this month, Malik opened up about his and Gigi’s past romance during an episode of The Zach Sang Show, admitting, “I don’t know if I’ve actually truly been in love at this point.”
The former One Direction member noted that he wrote the song “Alienated” from his new album “towards the end” of a previous relationship, though he didn’t specify who it was about. (Malik was briefly linked to Selena Gomez in March 2023, but the pair never addressed their relationship.)
“[I wrote it] when me and my ex were breaking up,” he explained. “So there’s the heavy narrative of the kinds of things I was going through mentally in that situation and what I was thinking and how I was feeling.”
Malik also revealed in a Tuesday, May 14, interview with Nylon that he wished he could have Khai “90 percent [of the time] if I could,” rather than splitting custody 50/50 with Gigi. “We go see Disney on Ice or we go see the Nickelodeon theme park,” he gushed of his little girl. “Or we got to the beach. That’s how I get out.”
