Stars: 2/5
Former One Direction star Zayn Malik has released his third album, titled “Nobody Is Listening.” Malik is notorious for coming out of almost nowhere to release new music. It’s been almost two years since his sophomore album “Icarus Falls” came out, and besides having a baby with model Gigi Hadid, I haven’t heard much from Malik until I found out about this new album. 
I feel like Malik’s music hasn’t really blown up besides songs from his first album “Mind of Mine” and a few singles with notable features. Sure, Malik has fans and makes good music, but I wouldn’t say I was highly anticipating this album, nor did I really know about its release until it was already out. I think it kind of plays into Malik’s character though. He’s always been known as being a pretty secluded celebrity, so it makes sense that I didn’t know too much about this album.

Besides his debut album, I don’t think Malik and his team have done a great job of hyping up his new music. “Icarus Falls” has 27 songs on it, which seems like a large project Malik spent a lot of time on, but I never saw a lot about it until it was released. The same goes for “Nobody Is Listening.” I may have seen a little bit of promotional stuff on his Instagram, but I don’t think he hypes up his new music as much as he should because he is very talented. 
Malik has released three albums and I’m still not exactly sure what his vibe is. He definitely favors more of an R&B sound, but some of his music is more pop and mainstream. I listened to “Mind of Mine” a lot in high school because I thought it was a solid album and I was still a fan of Malik from his One Direction days. I didn’t really get into “Icarus Falls,” but it was nice to reconnect with Malik as a fan by listening to this new album. 
“Nobody Is Listening” starts off a little strange with a spoken word track titled “Calamity.” I really could not take this track seriously because it sounds like something you’d hear off of Soundcloud. It definitely was not something I expected Malik to start out this album with, but he never fails to surprise me (like the time he up and left One Direction). The rest of the album is filled with Malik singing instead of talking, which I’m thankful for. My favorites from the album are “Better” and “River Road.” 
Overall, this album has chill vibes, but I don’t know if I’d listen to it on repeat. It could be good to put on in the background while doing other things, but I’m not sure if it’s worth active listening.
This album didn’t really blow me away. Sure, I liked some songs, but I wasn’t obsessed with any of them. Malik has an amazing voice and a lot of talent, so I guess I just expect him to be a bigger artist than he is. Malik’s vocals on the album are stunning as usual, but I don’t think the overall album was too astonishing. Malik’s voice is so soothing, so I’d listen to this album just for that. Honestly, give this album at least one play so you can prove Malik wrong when he says “Nobody Is Listening.”