Just days after Zayn Malik dropped out of the One Direction tour to return to the United Kingdom as a result of suffering from stress – and amid continuing speculation over whether he will return in time to for the Dubai gig on April 4 – the remaining band members performed for the first time without him in Manila on Saturday night.
His absence didn't seem to dampen the enthusiasm of the fans too much. Thousands queued in humid conditions for more than 12 hours to get a good spot at the band's first show in the Philippines, according to Inquirer.net.
By all accounts, the remaining four members of the band – Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson – put on a great show that delighted the audience.
However, if the band are managing to weather the crisis so far, bookmakers are pessimistic about the longer-term prospects and have slashed the odds on the band breaking up from 6/1 to 3/1. Paddy Power is also offering odds of 10/11 that Malik will leave the band and 4/5 that 1D will continue without him.
Malik returned to the UK after photos emerged showing him with his arm around a woman in Thailand, where the band were performing as part of their On the Road Again Tour. He is engaged to the Little Mix singer Perrie Edwards.
Meanwhile, there was more drama within the 1D camp yesterday, when Louis Tomlinson and his long-term partner Eleanor Calder revealed that they had split up. The announcement came after the 23-year-old was photographed in the company of a woman in Bangkok.
A spokesperson for Tomlinson said that "Louis and Eleanor split up two weeks ago. They have not announced this as they wanted some privacy during this time." Promoters Done Events told The National yesterday that they were hopeful Malik will rejoin the band in a week and be in the UAE for their Dubai Sevens gig on April 4.
artslife@thenational.ae
