Zayn: Being Single is Freeing

What is up daddy gang it is your founding father Alex Cooper with call her daddy Zane welcome back to call her daddy I can't believe I was thinking about this morning I'm like it has been I think almost three years since I last saw you yeah it's good to see you how have you been? been good yeah just being a dad when I'm not working aside from that yeah we've done another album conical I got it together like pretty much after I did the stairway to the sky tour felt the vibe you know instead just seeing what people were like responding to and then got back home back to Pierre and was like super inspired to like make another record I think I did it in like two weeks I love it you're like I'm a dad and then like when I'm not working like oh right casual like you're on stage performing and then you're just like back in Pennsylvania and you're like a little yeah just a little bit to anyone who is in familiar or doesn't remember the first episode that we ever recorded together was in my parents house in Pennsylvania which is still a little bit of a mind fuck to me that we were I remember when you left there were kids in the cul-de-sac being like crashing into the tree being like is that same yeah yes there was like little kids in the cul-de-sac being like wait that's not I didn't know I said he kids well because no one in Pennsylvania ever gets like a star-studded moment so the fact that you're just casually leaving that's why I'm thinking so weird I lived there everyone's always like you know you're such a weirdo I do live in Pierre I just love it that I love it yeah and now we're in Vegas because you have a residency here so like from like Pennsylvania cul-de-sac to Vegas like the vibes are just like a little different today just a little um I was thinking about it in that first interview that was your first time really talking in almost seven years so we kind of went through everything we talked about your rise to fame we talked about you walking away from one direction we talked about your early relationships we went to almost everything so today I think we just hang out and catch up and have a little bit of fun um how long have you been in Vegas uh being here coming up to two weeks now uh yeah not too what have you been doing have you gone to the strip no I'm being to the strip good you even go I probably caught like um I don't really go out with security and stuff I kind of just like keep it low case man like couple people from the team or whatever so I think it like attracts let's attention that way um so yeah I probably could go out I just it's not really my vibe please do it so I'm getting a bit old like when I'm not working I just want to go home and oh will you again 33 he's like I'm such an old man every 33 I feel like an old man everyone's like keep that energy to yourself saying you're not old you're young we have you gone to the casinos uh yeah we had a little look because obviously they had like the tables with my first on and the stuff so we went to go check that out that's fun yeah but I'm not really a gambler either it's not really my thing did you lose any money never really lost a big yeah amount of money in my life like I I bet on fights and stuff like UFC fights boxing fights here and there if I know somebody's gonna win how much uh I've won some decent money I don't dare to disclose but I've won some decent money I'm for the Joshua when we say some money um so you're like you're doing well for yourself in the valley arena okay last interview I obviously in my parent house I have sad news they sold that house really so I'm not like privy to the information of like what is going on in Pennsylvania these days like are you like do you have any hot gossip for me like what's going on in Pennsylvania uh not much to be honest that's why I lived there um it's real quiet calm out there you know I mean there's not much going on and I don't really leave my gut I'll be honest with you I kind of just stay there uh do you have neighbors I do have neighbors yeah but they're quite far away yeah have you ever interacted with them yeah yeah we've got some uh I got a new neighbor next door neighbor um will then like maybe I want to say about five six months ago now um so some cookies and you know welcome to the neighborhood you sent them cookies yeah all the cool no no sent it's next door but they sent the number back like and like said if you ever need anything you want us to watch our house or whatever we've got you yeah it's nice what do you think they think of you I'm not sure you know um I did have somewhat quite funny happen recently I was working at the house I was filming something for Borderlands uh for the video game we did the song and we had like a whole thing going on in the field like smart grenades and crazy shit and somebody complained it was like zandas and oh yeah I was like I'm aware I don't oh yeah but they're like hey what's going on in the backyard yeah the doll is having like a crazy festival in in the in the back garden but actually we're just working okay so you were causing like a little bit of a ruckus but for the most part you're usually dead silent yeah pretty much yeah really give me a break I'm not throwing parties just like throwing grenades that's why I like the space because I can put the music as a lot as I want and I'm not really disturbing anybody you know something that went so viral from our last episode together which I thought was so wild was you talking about your animals the internet lost their minds okay we talked about your cats your dogs your turtles your chickens who do we have now how are the animals do it they're all pretty much the same yeah yeah I've got turtles chickens dogs cats I lost one of my cats actually recently which one V.O. one of my Sphinxes yeah it's kind of sad I'm so sorry you said that for the chickens you also kind of stopped naming them at one point because it was too traumatizing when you would lose them it's something happens to them yeah so now they just call the girls I'll say so you're not naming them anymore no no so when you see your chickens in the morning you're just greeting them as like it's going on girls they're collective now hey girls I'm trying to think of your fashion sense right you're kind of known as like you got some swag going on when you're on the farm yeah what are you wearing uh like are you in overall sometimes actually yeah sometimes do overalls are fully leaning to the farm thing but yeah not just relaxed casual stuff you know jeans t-shirt check a shirt sometimes a time he is so Pennsylvania it's crazy you're wearing full flannels yeah but it helps you blend in wow what's well oh my god I forgot we talked about blah blah last time and I was like honestly you're a real one that you actually go there do you leave your house a lot and like go around in Pennsylvania like are you shopping I'm not gonna be a dick I'm not gonna lie to you I like Dardash and Obrates quite quite a lot yeah you're like I've never you don't even know what my calfries is do you it's the grocery store is okay no I don't know what my calfries is so you just give me wall walk because you're like I know that's a Pennsylvania staple but like I probably never even done not being to wall I've been in there a few times yeah but I prefer to order from there because usually when I'm getting food from that's like three in the morning so let's talk about gardening yeah I heard you've been up to gardening lately which I feel like you weren't doing when I first met you what are you growing over there in your overall I actually have been growing stuff for a minute since I moved that to be there maybe about a year after I was living out there I just realized there's so much land like you can just mess around in in the modern shit so yeah I grow all kinds of different stuff melons tomatoes carrots onions eggplant pumpkin cucumber all kinds of chilies like chili plants grow really well there too yeah all kinds of stuff jalapenos bullet chilies and then are you taking these and then you're cooking yeah taking my freeze a lot of the chilies because you can't use them all at once you know unless you want to die but yeah we freeze a lot of stuff keep it I have been wanting to do that like I probably will never do it but I'm like in a dream world I'm like I should be gardening but like what has what's the plant that's really frustrated you the most frustrated me probably either cucumber or pumpkin why because it's like a aggressive plant like it's invasive I think is the term they use for it and it just overtakes everything else because it's got vines and they kind of have a mind of their own and they just strangle your other plants and stuff for care for the light okay good to know so like I shouldn't even try with your camera don't put your markers or cucumbers in there anything yeah they have to be by themselves I mean you need to get a list from you like if you're gonna put these in this area that okay so you're pretty like expert at this point I won't say expert I'm alright but yeah as you're about to ask me some questions about it maybe off camera I'm like okay for an idiot like me what's the first thing that's the easiest to grow um probably some simple like onions or carrots they tend to grow quite well you don't really mind what the climate's like either see these are the important things we need to like I know this is called her daddy but like you've got a brain of your own over there that I feel like you're like I have a lot of weird wisdom and this is what I'm trying to soak up okay um let's talk about woodworking I heard from a little birdie that that's also a new hobby of yours what are you doing yeah I like to carve things I would yeah like small pieces of wood not like big projects or anything but like small blocks of wood and like like carve like bars of them and stuff like a bear bear I can do a bird now well done so walk me through that you've got a knife or how do you do it it's a carving knife you can get like sets that's specifically made for that like for soft wood um yeah and I just watch like random youtube videos of people doing it and then just copy it are you just like hoarding all of this stuff are you giving it away as gifts um I was actually at one point thinking it'd be really sick to like give them to people as Christmas presents or whatever because it takes a lot of time and it's thought and effort um but the only ones I've done so far are kai hot it's like I did them for kai and she keeps them on a shelf like yeah have you given her a bird or a bear she's got like four bears because it's like practice you know right the first one's like so bad it's just got bad yeah that's really cute and yeah bird she's got like a little bird I'm interested to know like I feel like a first date a lot of people that's a classic question someone would be like tell me about your hobbies like what's a hobby of yours it's like a classic question what do you think would be one of the most attractive hobbies someone could have because you obviously are a man of quite interesting hobbies yeah um the most attractive hobby the I think somebody could have um is probably reading um because you get information from that you know it gives you some stimulus for conversation you want an intellectual woman yeah man maybe some day you're like Alex stop it wait so would you ever like start a little book club with someone a book club yeah maybe yeah when to get old yeah be kind of cute wait why do I feel like in Pennsylvania I'm gonna see you in the next three years and you're like Alex that idea sparked something and I have a full Pennsylvania book club and it's gonna be just you and I actually wear some friends in PA now thank you Alex I love how you think that like people wouldn't want to be your friend in PA like everyone wants to be you just have to leave your house but a book club is an easy way maybe you start with the old couple that lives next to you yeah let me know yeah let me know if you get it to it I'll let you know when you start something new obviously there's like a bit of a learning curve and I think you're someone who is so successful and you're obviously a very talented person but how does it make you feel when you maybe are kind of at a beginner's level with things that you're taking on and it takes time to get good as something do you like that that's yeah why get into so many weird random things I enjoy that feeling I enjoy the the beginning stage of not being good at something and then seeing the progression you know like over the years putting that time in even when I was a little kid in a weird way like when I was like eight nine that was what it was they taught me about wanting to do music I wasn't great you know you don't just come out and you know you're amazing I think I was really rubbish you know I couldn't sing it all like I had to work hard in practice and you actually think you couldn't sing it all oh shit man well eight nine year old me yeah terrible yeah I won't put that kid on stage okay but terrible by your standard or if a video came out of you at eight like they might think it's cute you know like I was quite I was quite cute but it's definitely not good yeah talent level definitely increased I'd like to say the pitch wasn't there no what is your relationship to perfectionism again closely related to previous question you know I enjoyed this idea of striving for perfection I'm also very aware that it doesn't exist so just drive myself a little bit insane with it but I feel like it's healthy because it pushes you further you know pushes the boundaries make sure you get well you said in an interview that you like leaning into simple things where there's no infiltration from other people's expectations how much pressure do you put on yourself to live up to other people's standards none have you always been like that yeah I really don't give a shit yeah that's that's why I kind of like stick to myself just keep to myself I'm not doing things for other people's approval um you can't keep everybody happy you know it's not it's not really a thing that you can achieve some people gonna like you some people are not at the end of the day I think it's more important to like like yourself that's a really incredible quality to have because I think I mean I've sat down with a lot of people and I feel like a lot of people would say I've gotten to that point but I haven't always been that way and to hear that you have like how do you think you've always just been kind of secure and comfortable with yourself like what do you attribute that yeah I don't even know if it's so much I would say I am secure and comfortable with myself I strive for that you know um and that's the most important thing for me like if I'm cool with myself um and yeah like I guess you do that by just you know living in your truth like I'm not really caring you know about impressing other people um I don't know where it comes from I just yeah it's just never been anything it's really incredible to hear you talk like that though I feel like as someone who's so public and you've been obviously in music for so long I'm curious to know what your and how you would describe your relationship to masculinity um I think my relationship with masculinity is unconventional in aware um I'm very aware of what toxic masculinity is and I tried to stay away from that um and I like to do things that you know people wouldn't necessarily think that I would do you know um give me some examples like in you know in a in a cultural sense I feel like in the last like 10 15 years things have changed you know like what's appropriate for guys to do and what's appropriate for females to do um cooking you know things like that I don't think you know 10 years ago people dudes are really out here being like you know I like cooking you know my spare time or I cry a blueie or you know whatever like um just being honest you know what I mean with the things like you don't have to always be the cool match or dude you know I guess that's my relationship with masculinity I feel like there's much more strength in vulnerability and honesty yeah are you sitting there crying at blueie and Kai is like dad what do you do occasionally yeah she she's always a little bit embarrassed with me yeah only my emotional feel since a parent that's actually amazing like I can picture the visual and you're like oh sorry yeah what did you mean that um how do you think having a daughter has impacted the way that you think about how society and men treat women uh that's a very interesting question uh for me personally um I feel like I've always thought about that anywhere because I have three sisters and five aunties and it's a big you know female family so I've been forced to hear nothing but female opinions for a very long time um the uh you know me having a child becoming a father has definitely amplified it further um and I guess just made me be more consciously aware that you know any woman I am of an interaction with or speaking to it is somebody's daughter or sister you know and just make sure you approach that with a little bit more respect I guess yeah as a dad what is your biggest wish for Kai um honestly I just told that she gets to do in life whatever she wishes to do and she's happy yeah I remember last time we talked you were saying how she was you would sing to her and like she was enjoying that like what currently does she want to be when she grows up she definitely wants to be a care pop star so yeah she's she's big into care pop oh my god how do you feel about that I'd like to keep her away from it you know but at the end of the day if she's happy like I said you know I'll support can you imagine you be like no you can't be in a girl group and and then she's like really dad you're a hypocrite and you're like yeah what be able to say that yeah so I'm just gonna have to support her but me personally yeah I would like to keep her away from some of the headache that this job entails you know keep her in the Pennsylvania world I said yeah keep her on the farm and the animals and she keep her with the girls okay last time we also talked you said that you took Kai to the Nickelodeon theme park and you guys had the best time what is another fun or special thing that you've gotten to do with her since then we've done quite a bit since then I took her to Monster Jump not long ago what is that the monster structure which I was convinced that they were going to be like slamming into each other 100 miles an hour they don't do that they're just kind of like do like bounces around on the sun but like a narrowing hour so a little bit anticlimactic for me but Kai enjoyed it and then I think we went to go see black pink live to Kadai how good so could I just saw them in Japan and it was amazing it's so fun they're really good we so did you suggest the monster jam thing or did she she actually suggested it I think somebody in school told her about it and she was like dad we should go here and I think she knew I was gonna kind of like it too so she's like I'll take my dad somewhere he will enjoy it yeah it was fun she was right we had talked about and you had shared with me about growing up with financial instability and insecurities what does it mean to you to be able to provide so much for your daughter without that level of stress I'm so glad you asked me that question it's everything even to the degree that like you know I'm raising an environment that you know isn't the same as everybody's you know her dad is a pop star mom is a model and certain things that she does in life might not you know always reflect what other people's understanding of reality is you know so I think I gave her a bit too much money from the tooth fairy how much are we talking 500 quid same it's our first tooth hold on and her mom gave me shit about it and I was like at the end of the day like I worked my ass off and like I should be able to give my kid what what I want to give her you know hold on hold on I may have to agree with her mom on this hold on yeah a lot of people do 500 dollars for one tooth yeah it's our first tooth though but then what's gonna happen with the second one she gets five yeah that's it the first two I'm gonna keep that one in frame it she's like dad what is this shit it's like a one dollar bill she you're like yeah that's it two phrase two phrase gone broke now she's like give me no giving anything else oh my god five hundred dollars is so crazy but also every person is so jealous right now they're like wow she's my first kid I know give me a break somebody please okay I can give you a break you're not you I'm just saying to you know people in general like obviously look at a type of web but look the end of the day I was lucky if I got anything from my teeth you know and I've worked really hard for everything I've earned so I don't feel like I should have to answer for them things you know I think it's a great point I think I obviously don't have kids yet but I think a lot of becoming a parent is trying to write the wrongs of things that you wish to have and there's definitely that too yeah I mean that like feeling of you know I think it to do this so I want you to be able to feel this and I overcompensate a little bit too much sometimes for that yeah for sure a whole month well it's also coming from such a genuinely good place like you saying like I'm so excited that I'm able to give to her yeah no one ever did that for me um you said she's obviously like your only kid like would you want more kids ever I do yeah it's not something I've like I'm like actively trying to pursue but yeah for sure I would like more kids obviously Kyle would have to approve too because she she's got the highest opinion you know um but yeah never say never I love that too she'd be the full head honcho like she's the oldest would you want big or smaller like would you want a lot of kids like a big family oh yeah definitely I come from a big family I seen somewhere in in the stand-up show the other day and this guy was talking to a stage and he was like you know when I used to watch full house like as a kid if that was any over as ethnicity family it would just be called house not full house and I was like it's so true because like we had like 15 people in the house all day every day you know um so yeah it's some I'm used to I'm enjoying the you know the peace and quiet of it just be mean kite but eventually yeah like I'd like to lean into that yeah maybe a till it maybe fall I'm not more than fall okay no more yeah and then you get four you're like okay one more maybe we'll see I guess I'd have to find a partner first yeah wait shit we'll get there we're good there we'll talk about day after I scout as well you know it's not really on me yeah you're like we can pretend all day Alex but it's really up to the woman yeah yeah yeah um how do you think though your upbringing has also influenced your parenting style now um I thought my upbringing was gonna influence my parenting style in a way that I would be super strict and and like you know regimenting with everything and it's a complete opposite like um I do not care to admit that I'm a complete pushover when it comes to my daughter she looks at me a type of when I just kind of just like melt a little bit and then just give it to her like what is an example she gets away with uh whenever she wants like a candy or something that she's not meant to be having or it's a bit layer and she don't want to go to sleep she's like and I watch one more cartoon and I'm like yeah you can't yeah yeah I love that perkai um you told me that spending time with your daughter has helped you reconnect with your own inner child what has that looked like for you over the years uh my own inner child has always been pretty loud I'm prominent in my personality is I think it's the reason I'm a creative um I like paying in and you know doing things that might might be more appealing to you know people of a younger age um but since doing it with her she's just kind of brought a lot of things back for me like um how much I enjoy doing them things you know during the day watching cartoons things like that like watching films and just enjoying kiddie stuff with her you know messing around with Play Dole and Sand and all the messy shit all the good stuff yeah no glitter though glitter glitter is not allowed in my house that's why because I hate it I hate so if she came to you and said dad she's not allowed she knows she wouldn't ask me she knows she'll be hiding little vows of glitter to put on on her artwork what bad experience did you have with glitter? I just need glitter goes everywhere it gets on everything gets stuck on your face and your eyes and your nose okay so that's where you will not be a putter right okay good to know it's glitter zanes blind is glitter for his daughter got it you became a dad at 27 years old that's pretty young yeah when you look back what do you remember feeling like were you scared at all or you nervous yeah definitely I was I was very nervous yeah um it's something I'd always really like looked forward to and um I remember my parents even saying to me my father used to say to me oh when you're a kid yourself that's when you're going to grow up you know so it's always like this hinge point um in my mind where I was like oh when I get there this will happen you know so it's kind of just expecting a lot of things to happen that didn't and kind of you know over emptying or pre emptying what you know was going to be the situation and just putting you know 80 years of pressure over a lifespan on myself in five minutes finding out that my girlfriend's pregnant you know I mean so it was a lot um but in reality it's been um it's been completely different you know you take it a day at a time and she's such an amazing human being that I just feel honored really without signing two cheesy to just be her doubt and be around her yeah is that so weird though like when you grow up you have these ideas of adults and then you become an adult you're like wait being an adult is kind of like you're not actually an adult nobody has a fucking clue what they're doing no one ever did everyone was just lying to me it's so crazy we look at our parents and we're like oh my god like you're so old I'm gonna be like you're all figured out you know everything well yeah they don't know anything they don't know anything they're just a scared as you're right so I do think it's also weird it's like when you hit these milestones in life we have a expectation of exactly what we're gonna feel like oh I'll be changed I'll be better I'll be this and then you get there and it's like you're still the same person like your life doesn't just change completely overnight like that so it is helpful as you go through those big life stages to kind of give yourself grace in those moments to be like huh so then everyone must feel this way it's not just me right you would hope so anywhere um okay we have to talk a little bit about dating but I already feel like you're gonna know your answer did it no what we have to talk about did it well what did you just say did you just say did it no dating dating I thought you say we have to talk about did it I was like what is this I don't even know what this is d-day dating which maybe to you feels like me asking about d-day because you're like that's like for a day in moment you're like no wait what did it fuck um are you seeing anyone right now no I knew you're gonna say that not even like texting okay that's fair you're not dating you're just you're talking I've got a few friends yeah but no no I'm not I'm not dating anybody okay so a few friends um you went on Tinder once right you did you ever make it out of the app uh no I never believed it was me to be honest with you so I didn't really work for it uh but yeah what was your profile picture of me but like was it from Google no no no I don't know I'm like camera all pictures okay so like it wasn't online that you could find it no no well that's like the tell they should have known it was yeah but what are they gonna do search online yeah it's this photo from online so dating apps are not for you anymore not really how has being a dad impacted the way that you approach dating right now um I don't know if being a doubts changed um the way I approach dating I guess the only um difference with that is the time you know like I said when I'm not working and I'm with Kai so like finding the time to even go on there and do that kind of stuff is is is a bit difficult will be honest with you well what would it take for you to introduce someone to your daughter um I think it'd have to be really serious um about that woman and like maybe plan a marina before she'd be introduced to my daughter but before the woman gets a ring she's gonna meet Kai right you're like what I have to decide no man like maybe like on the third day I'm like you're gonna marry this woman not you you commit you commit my bird hey you can me make me my daughter sorry yeah my daughter commit my bird all you can make my chickens so hold on hold on you're saying that bird is a novel you call bird are you female your bird okay okay I was like she's meeting the chicken no she's meeting my my girlfriend maybe the girlfriend first meets the girls yeah the chickens then the turtles and then slowly if the vibe is right Kai just feel like it's a lot of pressure you know like call me old school when I said this but like I want want to ever put that kind of pressure on somebody else even you know like meet my daughter have a relationship with the then don't work out between me and you and then you've gone somewhere my daughter's got to relationship with you and she don't get to see you again kind of sucks you know like I won't want to put her through that um it's kind of on me so I feel like it I have to be smarter about that and obviously I'm joking like maybe if I was dating a bird for like a decent amount of time five six months properly we'll get serious then I say oh yeah like do you want to meet my daughter you know when I know she's not crazy yeah yeah you need to like really make sure you're like putting her through tests and finally you're like okay you have passed the not crazy test now is the next step um you've obviously been in a public relationship before would you be open to that again or are we going full private now yeah yeah I'm yeah I'm not looking for a public relationship again and just out of experience no um you know offense to anybody that I have been in public relationships before I've just learned from it they don't work for me you know um I'm quite a private person um I don't really strive for people's you know approval or attention so the relationship should really be between me and that person and I think that personality type would somebody who doesn't want to do that would be more suited to me you know oh man maybe you're gonna find like a Pennsylvania baddie because like girls in Pennsylvania don't expect you know so bad arm ish but yeah and they're like oh I didn't expect this life in like the limelight like it's fine if we never leave the farm yeah okay keep me updated um good to know how big girls in Pennsylvania are like I must find him back on the dating apps um for 10 really formative years of your life from 17 to about 27 you were in serious relationships this is kind of the longest you've ever publicly been single what was the scariest part of being alone for the first time okay you didn't care I don't find being alone scary like again I think it links to the other question you asked me about like how you cool with yourself I'm cool with myself I like my own thoughts I like to do things myself I like to be in my own company um I'm not co-dependent like that all um even with my parents like I love them I respect them they're always there for need them but I'm not co-dependent on them you know I don't need to speak to them every single day and check things with them um it's so I wasn't really scary for me honestly it again no disrespect to all the past relationships I've been in because people tend to take things out of context um no disrespect at all it was free like um I am that type of person you know runs on my own clock I'm just to myself so it was so freeing to me I could just do things make plans sleeping to whatever time I want you know what I mean nice like go to bed whatever time I want eat what I want like eat in the bed like all kinds of shit you know that like it's not cool when you're in a couple so um yeah it's just been freeing for me and I know pressure you know like um I can't really get in trouble that way but you know tend to get in in trouble in relationships too because I was young and you know did certain things you know spoke to over females when I started being as as most people do you live and learn from it but this way there's no guilt you know I can just be free and speak to whoever I want and you know hopefully if I meet somebody that I want to be serious with I'll have spent enough time in this place to know that I want to be with that person and be committed to them it's a great point like you can acknowledge you messed up when you were younger and you're not proud of it but also like unless you're ready to get into a relationship where you know you can't be faithful yeah but okay there I feel like there's a difference between enjoying your own company and then self-isolation have you ever intentionally self-isolate yes um two certain degree I think I did a little bit like after the band you know like I took a bit of time to myself um but I want to say it's complete isolation I always still have people around you know um my manager's always around that uh works with me and like my best friends come out and see me from time to time not as much as I'd like uh because it is quite a long flight but I want to say it's it's like self-isolation it's more just like removing myself from the noise for a bit you said that you're finally in a place now where you don't need another person to identify or find yourself in that's what we're talking about how in the past were you losing yourself in past relationships I don't know if I was necessarily losing myself I just felt like there was so many things I had to do in order for this other person to be happy um and things that I didn't necessarily find enjoyment and you know like um I'm not the type of dude that likes to go to five star Michelin restaurants every night and get pictured and you know go here and go there this person's invited you and they're really famous so you should go hang out with them I'm like you know because we both got the same job and you're just going to put us on a play day um yeah for me like it doesn't don't make sense like that yeah so um yeah I just tend to just stay away from from them things it's actually the best thing you said today I don't want to go on a play day with other famous people sue me to refreshing but I think it's it's hard to not get caught up in that because I think there's so many people that can like this is how it goes when you get famous so many people have so much of value on that too you know the way the world runs is like you know who you're associated with is reflective and reflection of you and uh people use that and you know social media to put off a false portrayals of whatever their life is and everything sunkidari and fairies and rainbows and in reality it doesn't quite work like that I'm happy that I feel like enough people now are starting to see through that like so many people doing things for social media and then the minute it happens or it's posted a lot of times if you know the person you're like wait that is like not they're not even that happy like that's literally bullshit like I just haven't crying at the club the other night but they're like they're miserable so it's like that is such a sad and isolating life to live and I have actually empathy for it because it's probably like feels very validating in the moment but it's almost like a quick dopamine hit and then it's over and so and usually stands for me security right yes yes and so you're sitting here being like you've done so much work on yourself you've always felt pretty good alone and so now you need someone that can kind of meet you there instead which is amazing I'd like that yeah I also feel like your 20s are all about making mistakes and figuring yourself out and now in your 30s you're really coming into your own I asked you when I first interviewed you to describe yourself in three words yeah what do you think you said I have no idea I probably said that's really difficult I think you did say that but then I forced you to answer okay give me three words that you would describe yourself as now then let's see if it's the same I think one of the words were definitely chill I don't know if it was correct was it yeah chill is on there two more all right so right now I would say chill chill and chill I'm joking it's hard for me I don't I don't really like to talk about myself in that way you know like give myself an objective well you did it three years ago do you want to know yeah do yeah chill funny loving guy oh there you go yeah I like that that's my guy there okay like him do you still relate yeah definitely yeah I think so love that you said in an interview that you don't know if you've ever truly been in love do you still stand by that yeah yeah because my understanding of love is always developing you know at that moment in time might have thought it was love but as I've got older I realized maybe it wasn't maybe it was lost maybe it was this maybe it was that I don't feel like it was love and to be fair like just to say this on record I will always love Jay because she's the reason my child isn't you know on this earth and I have the utmost respect for her I will always love her or don't know if I was ever in love with her yeah I mean I can imagine there's so much pressure I agree and I'm and even you having to clarify like everyone's always probably like what like what do you mean that's what because before I even want to say that I think people took it a type of way so I'm just like yo I have so much respect for this woman and I do love her crazy amount but yeah no but I don't think I was in love with her at that point otherwise I would have been a better version of myself yeah I think that's fair to say um anxiety we talked about it when you came on the show last time how are you managing those feelings today um again I think I said this to you before but like anxiety is a thing that I think you know all of us are dealing with we just now have a word to explain it um and you feel that in you know small increments throughout your day certain situation might make you feel something but one thing I've learned since becoming a father is that it's good to overcome them feelings and push through it um because you know I'm sat here all the time to my doctor do things and you know just get over it you'll be fine you'll be cool and and I'm a bit of a great if I'm not doing that myself yeah you went from disappearing from the public eye essentially to now coming back doing a biggest residency and a full stadium and arena tour what shifted for you in that headspace um I think it was around like 2020 um I was wanting to go back on tour anywhere like whenever I drive past it like a arena or something I was like what my performing there what's this arena called um and I kept asking the question and it was kind of going to happen and then COVID came and destroyed the entire world um so you know they're all saying if you you want to make God laugh try to come up with your own plan um and then when that happened it just spurred me further um this want and desire to like kind of be back on stage and again I know I always bring it back to Kai since she's uh being born but it's kind of just wanting to show her that like I can't do it and like this is what your dad does you know this is my job um yeah I don't want it to be watching all videos of me in the band you know like it doesn't really look like me anymore you're like I'm way more handsome now guys do you think that your vocals have gotten better since then too I'd like to think so yeah I think so appreciate um when you are feeling overwhelmed or anxious what does help calm you down weed okay are you growing that on the farm too uh really I aren't growing that on the farm no um I don't think that's legal actually um but yeah no honestly a meditation mindfulness you know being grateful for things are you doing meditation apps are you doing it just alone myself yeah just sitting and breathe and think about things and nice quiet you know contemplate place and and think about things and I think you always uh is helpful to name like three things you're grateful for and everything else kind of like subside to a little bit so we do that right now yeah what are three things you're grateful for um for Kai first and foremost I'm grateful for my career and I'm grateful for my family oh beautiful throughout your career there have been instances and kind of like what you were just talking about like so much pressure on you where people are going to take things out of context and looking at you like there have been a few instances where people are looking for you to respond publicly during an emotional personal situation like how do you handle that pressure again it's not really a pressure like I feel like there's a pressure on you if you feel a need to argue a point or you know you feel so adamant that you you know you need to rectify what's being said me personally if it's not true I don't give a shit like there's so many things that people say that are untrue and if I were going to sit there and go through all them things I won't have any time in my day to do anything else like so I just try not to think about it I'm not really a social media person I don't have social media on my phone if there's something that's going on social media I speak to my manager and my assistant and say for this upon social media I don't scroll don't do the doom scrolling shit stop seeing anything you know I just kind of live in my in my own world yeah and it's nice there isn't no pressure for me in that sense because I don't allow that pressure to be in my life it's great um obviously you have been on massive tours before but during those you were on the stage with other people this time you're out there by yourself how are you approaching it and how does it feel different than having for people standing next to you yeah the first couple of shows I did on the stoward to the sky at all it was kind of weird you know I've done a couple of odd songs here and there like on tv shows and stuff like one song but not done like a whole show um so yeah it was a little bit strange you know I took a little bit of adjustment not being able to look to somebody else singing well I have my band on stage with me um but yeah not not much conscious like decision-making like I'm going to do this different from the band. what can fans if they haven't been expect from a zane show? uh hopefully some decent vocals not too much movement me just kind of stood at the stage would you ever do a little dance? it's not really my thing yeah I have self-professed always to never really be a dancer in that sense I don't I don't think I take myself serious enough to like pull that off you know like well I can I like not picture you dancing? because it's just a weird thought yeah even even even you put me on AI dancing it looks a bit weird. you're like that just that's definitely really if you see me dancing online that is a that was never me. you recently are I know you said you don't have social media but I'm assuming this has come back to you. you are all over the internet right now because you made a joke the other now stage about people's high ticket prices. I never specified no namps you know people of high ticket prices all over the place could have been talking about anybody take it as you want. there um okay can we talk about your new music? what themes are you really diving into on this album? yeah so the um the new album conical is uh the derivative of a lot of inspiration from you know minding heritage and culture um I've always put you know like little subtle things in there little ad-libs are in there even on dusted arm with seah um and it's something I've always liked to show the world you know like I can sing like this too um so we went into into that a little bit more conical is uh in its definition is the act of creating percussive sounds with your voice select drum sounds so I made a lot of the production out of my own voice so I'm singing like lairs and lairs of different vocals to make the beat um and once we started doing it like of like for first three four songs I was like yeah the whole record needs to be like this so just letting into that and um drop drew a lot of inspiration from that yeah so when we're listening to this we can know that a lot of what we're hearing is actually your own voice is my voice even the drum sounds and stuff here on some of them yeah it's like being affected to make up sound like a drum bomb singing it oh that's sick wait that makes it even this is just giving me even more color to what to expect that's incredible can you tell me a little bit about your new single die for me I've had that song for years I've had that song for like five six years I think um I had it even before room um caught a while ago um and it was just a great song but it didn't feel like it fit on room because room was such a raw like different kind of like singer song write project thing um they felt too you know produced and too clean and crisp but I didn't write that song yeah I have no problem professing when I wrote songs either it was just a banger of a song uh I heard it and they asked if I wanted to do it so I said yeah and I caught it and it turned out really well yeah did you relate to any of the themes of like for sure yeah I'd be silly if I you know if I said I didn't relate to the themes I did definitely um but I also felt the power of the song like feels like it's a big like radio song um and I wanted to come back with that kind of energy you know when you are personally writing and you're writing about a specific situation or a specific person like have you ever shown people music ahead of time that's going to be about them or you like no way if it's about them never no yeah have your people call you and be like zane is this one about me I honestly if anyone knows me like did know it was about them you know like they don't need to call me but they know me well enough at that point they're like this song's definitely about me really go shit yeah what song of yours from this album were you the most nervous to have be released it's interesting um there's a few songs on that there's a song on the uh call side effects that was a bit like I don't know if I want to put this out um and then the more and more listen to it I was like you know what it's it's honest you know it's it lives in reality and I'm sure so many people have felt this way um so for that reason I was like it needs to go on that yeah it's real the theme of that one I'm pretty sure is the one where you kind of talk about the short comings is that one of kind of being yeah like the side effects of loving me you know instead of like how you made me feel from loving you it's like I understand that I might have made you feel a type of way too you know it may it's pretty mature self-admitted yeah it takes a lot to admit that it does take two to tango when there's issues it's not just one person we have obviously discuss your pretty private person like how do you decide when you want to share parts of your life in music because that again like people can read into things like how much do you put thought into that for me it's like at the end of the day I could right now after this interview go on Twitter or go on Instagram I could put some at real cheap up under you know me and get a quick reaction for me with the music yeah so much more class to it it's poetry the start going into it this production it's classy you know so that's why I'm like yeah I'll talk about these things here because it's art and it's theirs that it's not just a random pocket text you know what I mean it's not a tweet no it's not tweet you're like just listen to it in the song okay I said it now how do you feel when people try to connect the dots of oh my gosh speculating about these lyrics must be about this person people are always gonna do that um you know even if I bring this on out next week about you know I always wanted to be a clown and being the circus people look like oh shit it's then we're to be a clown in the circus you know me yeah I don't really feel the type of way about it like they're always gonna say something and the music that I use and the songs that I write myself usually have some correlation to my reality too so I'm cool with that yeah they can connect the dots wherever they want they might not always connect them correctly but that's what makes it interesting yeah okay top three favorite songs from the album top favorite three okay use to the blues is definitely my favorite I think um it's just different feels a bit different for a zan song so got a bit more of a hip hop like production to it uh that uh really like side effects and there's another song called sideways okay favorite lyric I'm just looking at you sideways when did you come up with that one oh wow look up it's fitting your notes up yeah you're wondering when you when I release this to the world and when you write something like that is that you sitting on the farm daydreaming or meditating having a thought and being like that's an interesting line and then you write it down yeah pretty much yeah when do you think you have those revelations of a new lyric the most like are you is it when you're in the studio is it when you're just chilling at home uh usually the best lyrics yeah they don't come like when you've planned to be in the studio you can plan as much as you want but um my lyrics should you come to me later night like um I'm a bit of a night owl um that time just before you go to sleep is a weird one for me because I don't go to sleep I just stay awake like writing things uh because my mind just got crazy at that time um but in this like studio run I managed to get a lot out in in the studio session so I think it just really depends you know if you've if you've got a bit of information pan oak ready to go it'll it'll be there for you um if you're not really living in life doing anything then probably not gonna shit to talk about you know man yeah I just thought about that as you're saying a lot of things come to at night I'm like okay miss looking at you sideways I'm assuming is basically you're like laying in bed and you're staring at each other while your heads are both on the pillow and you can't help but think like yeah that may have come to you while you were laying there wishing that person was there yeah okay well that um okay what are you most proud of with this album um honestly the fact that people still give a shit I'll be honest with you like five solo albums now I would I was just buzzing that you know I got to do a first one like after the band like people seem to care you know some five record date now so I guess I'm really proud of the progression um and just the development and understanding of myself in through my music you know what do you want fans to take from this album um I wanted to get a bit more insight on you know maybe my culture and heritage um and maybe even you know find a new word I don't know if too many people are familiar with the word conical um yeah okay um when you think back to who you were when you first started your career to who you are sitting here today how would you describe your evolution as an artist uh fucking you jock you know uh from standing on stage in Manchester singing Mario let me love you uh acapella not knowing what production was anything wearing my uncles clothes uh does this mean but progression you know I'd like to say I've developed my own style a little bit and not a bit more about music I know what keys now I know what pitches all these things that I had no clue of yeah so there's been a lot of development but I think uh again uh just to bring about their the most development has been uh in me as a human being you know like just growing yeah what do you think overall when you look back at that young boy on that stage singing Mario let me love you to now like what do you wish big balls no really big balls 70 okay do other clue he's so confident what is he doing so cute is there anything at that point you wish you could have told your younger self now all the time yeah I wish I could go back to that 17 year version me it's uh well don't like for being that breath like because I don't know if if somebody asked me in my 30s if I had no experience before would you go standing singing for the sound of cow I would have done it you know I would be like no no work wow and look where it got you yeah it was an honor to sit down with you again I think back to being in Pennsylvania with you I remember well first of all that was just so weird because you literally walked through my parents house and I was like I'm struggling like you're walking through my parents doors and like I grew up here so nice look it was so cool it's such a different environment like for me to be in like a house and doing an interview I think that's why the interview went well felt good and relaxed and sure it didn't feel like a intrusive interview I thought we were just chatting as friends it was really fun and you were so sweet and you brought me a housewarming gift even though that was a thing I've got you some all stuff is what Zane yeah you got me so much stuff my team was like what do you want to come see all this I was like you bought me basically everything I could have thought of and more I heard that you lack all the same stuff as me so I was like yeah after sending some stuff all the snacks all the most of the British stuff in there I know I saw it trust me I've already gotten into it I was eating the chips I was like you're a real one thank you but no it's been really cool to get to know you and I think like my favorite thing about my job is to get to progress with someone where it's like we met at a certain period in time and then to now sit here with you like you feel more relaxed like you feel more at ease and I don't know what you would attribute that to but like I can feel it in you and it's really cool to see that I appreciate saying that yeah no obviously that interview that we did was like one of the first interviews I've done in a long time so again it's that like anxiety you know preempting what what the situation is going to be and then you're down and it's very different you know it has been three years since then I've been working a lot more been getting into the rhythm of things and I feel a lot more chill and a lot more confident you know in this environment and I'm enjoying myself yeah well I'm happy you called me and I think we're gonna have to do this again in three years let's do it you guys didn't actually think we were done yet did you Zayna and I obviously have a little surprise to end the night so let's go you have to stop giving me gifts it's just noodles it's not not nothing that expensive it's some crisper noodles I'm dead at this yeah stick the chips in the noodles and I got you this too Jane how much have you spent on the noodles we want to discuss that on camera don't welcome oh my god we've seen this is sick it's like the calm before the storm I am so happy we got to reunite thank you so much for just letting me into the behind the scenes of your world I'm so happy for you this has been such a massive success I can't wait for the album and more importantly I can't wait to see you out there tonight thank you so much oh you're the best I hope you have a good time oh my god I will I'll feel like I'm putting a good show for you dance for us out there all right yeah like not a chance get a little with them bye then see you Malik all right we'll stay in my next single die for me here it is you two times and a times I gave you my everything I tried and I tried to love you to take that Don't let me know, I need you the most Leave you my heart, don't you dare let it go Say it, I need you Say you, I need you Don't let me know, I need you the most Feel you're good, I'm a lady Said you'd never get me letting me go You know, call your friends, said you gone I'm the good way to be, but we're gonna stay I'll sleep just fine without you Ain't nothing else than somebody new I'll see you again, I'll see you again, I'll see you again Love you, I love you, you said it out Those are your words you'll straighten out You told me you love me right now Woo! Don't let me know, I need you the most Feel you're good, I'm a lady Said you'd never get me letting me go You know, call your friends, said you gone I'm the good way to be, but we're gonna stay I'll sleep just fine without you I'll sleep just fine without you I'll sleep just fine without you Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Don't let me know, I need you the most Feel you're good, I'm a lady Said you'd never, never let me go Woo!