( CNN ) That sound you just heard was the crash of hearts breaking all over the world . Zayn Malik is leaving One Direction . `` After five incredible years Zayn Malik has decided to leave One Direction , '' the band said on its Facebook page and tweeted out to its 22.9 million Twitter followers . `` Niall , Harry , Liam and Louis will continue as a four-piece and look forward to the forthcoming concerts of their world tour and recording their fifth album , due to be released later this year . '' Rumors about such a move had started since Malik left the band 's tour last week . At the time , a rep told Rolling Stone he had `` been signed off with stress '' after a scandal erupted following the publication of a photo showing Malik holding hands with someone other than his fiancee . Fans on Twitter immediately responded with teary Vine videos and the # AlwaysInOurHeartsZaynMalik hashtag . Even the Girl Scouts got in on the act with a sweet tribute to the singer . The band 's Wikipedia page was also quickly updated with a sentence , `` Zayn Malik was formerly a member . '' And Spotify said that global streams of One Direction songs were up 330 % Wednesday in the hour after the news was announced -- a `` spike of sadness , '' as the music service called it . In the U.S. alone , streams of the band 's music were up 769 % . To mark the occasion , Spotify created a special playlist of 1D songs . Malik , 22 , has been part of the very popular British boy band since it was formed ( at the urging of Simon Cowell , according to some stories ) in 2010 after members auditioned separately for the UK version of `` The X Factor . '' Cowell became a mentor and signed them to his label . The group has put out four albums , and its hits include `` Best Song Ever '' and `` Story of My Life . '' Their latest album , `` Four , '' came out in November .
Malik had left the band 's tour Wednesday , citing `` stress '' One Direction is one of the most popular bands in the world .