Zayn: For the First Time in 6 Years (FBF)

Multi-platinum recording artist Zayn joins Call Her Daddy for his first sit-down interview in nearly 6 years. From Alex's childhood home in Pennsylvania, he opens up about his surprisingly quiet life in PA, his pre-fame days, his X Factor audition, his reflections on his time with One Direction, and his decision to leave the group. Zayn also discusses the impact of fame on his mental health, proudly sharing his experiences as a father and how it has shifted his priorities. With his highly anticipated new music on the horizon, Zayn provides insight into his inspirations. Get ready to discover a whole new side of Zayn, zaddy gang ;)

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Alex Cooper?

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• 0:43Alex Cooper?

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• 1:28Alex Cooper?

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• 2:09Alex Cooper?

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• 2:54Alex Cooper?

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• 3:14Alex Cooper?

  What is up Daddy Gang? It is your founding father, Alex Cooper, with Call Her Daddy.

• 3:22Alex Cooper?

  Hey, Zane, welcome to Call Her Daddy.

• 3:28Alex Cooper?

  I'm so happy that you're here. We have to preface this with, my fans are watching this, like, where the fuck are you guys? We are in my childhood home, Daddy Gang, okay? Zane and I are in my living room that I grew up in. Zane got here and has had to look at all the embarrassing childhood photos of me. Thank you so much for coming. I've never done

• 3:51Speaker 01

  There was no embarrassing photos, just for the record.

• 3:53Alex Cooper?

  What did you say?

• 3:54Speaker 01

  I didn't see any embarrassing photos. I think you hid them all.

• 3:56Alex Cooper?

  Actually, there's a couple. You'll see them on your way out and then you'll never look at me the same. I have never done a podcast in my childhood home. So this feels like a little sentimental. Also, you never really do interviews.

• 4:08Speaker 01

  I don't.

• 4:09Alex Cooper?

  When is the last time you did something like this?

• 4:11Speaker 01

  Hmm, I think I did an interview like six years ago was the last time I did one.

• 4:16Alex Cooper?

  So we're kind of like popping the cherry back off.

• 4:18Speaker 01

  I think so, yeah. Something like that.

• 4:22Alex Cooper?

  So you're living in Pennsylvania and I obviously grew up here. I loved it growing up. It's very family oriented, very suburban.

• 4:30Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 4:30Alex Cooper?

  But I'm curious to know, like, of all the trendy spots that you could have picked, why Pennsylvania?

• 4:36Speaker 01

  Um, yeah, it's interesting. A lot of people ask me that, like, they always think it's super random that I live out here. Um, I ended up coming out here, um, with, with my ex a bit, like, and I fell in love with it. Like, it was just super, like, calm and chill. Like you said, suburban. Um, and I just wanted to, like, take a break from, like, the busy city. Cause like, I was living in New York for three years at the time. And, um, it just got a bit overwhelming, you know, like going out of your door to like just craziness all the time. So I just wanted a bit more like, um, of a surrounding that like I'm used to, like where I grew up, um, in Bradford, like in, in the UK. It's, it's a lot more this kind of pace and vibe. So, um, I feel like I just fit in better around here than I do in the

• 5:21Speaker 01

  trendy spots, as it, as it, as it were, you know?

• 5:24Alex Cooper?

  Yeah, you give trendy vibes, but I think I totally relate to that of like, sometimes when you get to-

• 5:30Speaker 01

  I'll take that.

• 5:30Alex Cooper?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 5:31Speaker 01

  I give trendy vibes.

• 5:32Alex Cooper?

  You give trendy vibes. Like, look at your outfit. It's like pretty swaggy. But then you're also like hanging with the Amish folk. So it's like a good little juxtaposition, Zane, okay? But what I find interesting is I love that you said, like, you would be in New York City and I'm assuming you would be going out and there's paparazzi everywhere taking photos of you. Pennsylvania, there ain't no paparazzi.

• 5:54Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's a great thing.

• 5:55Alex Cooper?

  Are they finding you or no?

• 5:56Speaker 01

  No, no, there's none out here. I don't, I think there's like laws and stuff. They're not allowed to even take photos in certain places.

• 6:01Alex Cooper?

  Oh, that's amazing. Okay. The most important question, have you gone to Wawa yet?

• 6:07Speaker 01

  I have. Uh, Wawa's a nighttime lifesaver out here.

• 6:12Alex Cooper?

  I was like, I, how am I gonna get along with Zane if he hasn't like had a love for Wawa yet? Do you love it?

• 6:18Speaker 01

  Yeah, like late night studio sessions. There's nothing else open. You have to go to Wawa, get the, the meatball soup. Yeah.

• 6:26Alex Cooper?

  It is so fucking superior. I remember growing up and my excuse whenever I would wanna go like meet up with boys would be like, "Mom, like, I just wanna go get a Wawa sub." And she'd be like, "You're not doing a-

• 6:36Speaker 01

  Using Wawa as your cover up, yeah.

• 6:54Alex Cooper?

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• 7:37Alex Cooper?

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• 8:19Alex Cooper?

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• 9:04Alex Cooper?

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• 9:48Alex Cooper?

  Okay, so I feel like, again, you're kind of this mysterious guy, Zane. We don't really know too much about you. You're kind of under the radar. So can you take me through a typical day in the life of Zane in Pennsylvania? Like, what are we doing? Make us feel like we're a part of your life.

• 10:05Speaker 01

  Um, a typical day for me is, uh, it kind of varies. It depends, you know, like what kind of mood I wake up in. But I take it pretty easy. Like, I just, um, I didn't now because obviously I've got my daughter. Like 50% of the time, it's, it's, it's a balance between the two things. But when I buy myself a typical day is, um, I'll probably wake up around like midday, have a shower, eat some food, um, and then like figure out if I'm going to go to the studio and do some writing because I've been in like writing mode for a long time, just like working on my records and stuff. So just, yeah, just getting into the studio pretty much. And then I'll, I'll be there like all day until I go to sleep.

• 10:46Alex Cooper?

  Now you're going to Wawa?

• 10:47Speaker 01

  And then I go to Wawa, yeah.

• 10:48Alex Cooper?

  Of course, of course.

• 10:49Speaker 01

  Stop off for a sandwich.

• 10:50Alex Cooper?

  Are you, uh, are you someone that likes to be alone?

• 10:54Speaker 01

  Um, I like my own space. Um, I like to, um, collect my thoughts in like a more quiet environment. Um, I feel like when there's a lot of people around, it kind of like just gets a bit hectic for me. Yeah, I just, I like to chill by myself from time to time. But I don't mind hanging out with people now, like on occasion. You know what I'm saying? Like, it has to be the right kind of environment and after like. Wanna be there, you know?

• 11:22Alex Cooper?

  No, I get that. I feel like that's also growing up. Like, I was recently talking to some of my audience. I was meeting them in person and we're like, it's kind of weird when you just start to grow up. You just get more specific with who you want to spend your time with. I think that's a healthy thing. Obviously, you're on a even bigger stage because you were around millions of people in stadiums and tours and everything. But I also think that's kind of relatable. It's like, you know what, sometimes I want to be alone and then also hang with people, but like, you gotta be good company.

• 11:50Speaker 01

  Yeah, I I've always thought like, um, it would be, you know, a pretty normal reaction to feel that way around so many people. I think anybody who was like overwhelmed in that manner would feel, you know, a certain type of of way about it, but um, I'm definitely learning to manage it a lot better, like, um, as I'm getting older, like, it's it's more of a choice, you know, rather than a than a hindrance. It's not like I can't do that. It's like I'd I'd rather prefer not to, yeah.

• 12:17Alex Cooper?

  That makes sense.

• 12:18Speaker 01

  I own it a bit more, yeah.

• 12:20Alex Cooper?

  You obviously love music, but can you share with us, like, what are some of your other hobbies? What are you passionate about? What's other than music?

• 12:28Speaker 01

  Um, like my main passion, I think, outside of music is is art. I love to paint and I love to draw. Um, I do a bit of cooking.

• 12:38Alex Cooper?

  Okay, tell me one of your dishes. Come on, I can't cook for shit, so.

• 12:41Speaker 01

  Cook a lot of different things, um, but I like to cook meat, like specifically, like, um, I have a smoker outside and I like to smoke like lamb and and I cook like my, like, I'll do like grilled vegetables with it and stuff.

• 12:55Alex Cooper?

  Oh, is this like new or were you always good at cooking?

• 12:58Speaker 01

  I wasn't always good at cooking, unfortunately for me. No, my my mum kind of spoiled me as a kid, so when I was living by myself, like at seventeen, there was some botched jobs done for some meals. Yeah, it wasn't wasn't great. Some some disgusting, uh,

• 13:13Alex Cooper?

  Yeah.

• 13:13Speaker 01

  Uh, stuff was going on for sure.

• 13:15Alex Cooper?

  Knock and cheese, the wrong noodles.

• 13:17Speaker 01

  Yeah, just sandwiches, you know, out of like crisps.

• 13:21Alex Cooper?

  That's kind of nice to be able to know, like, you can cook, you're over there painting, you can sing. Okay, no big deal. Don't keep bragging over there. Wow, making us all look bad. Do you have animals?

• 13:34Speaker 01

  I do, yeah. I've got a lot of animals. I have three cats. Three dogs.

• 13:39Alex Cooper?

  Do they get along?

• 13:40Speaker 01

  Uh, they're kind of like in different places. I have some dogs at one part of my house and the cats in the other. Um, the, we have three turtles, six chickens.

• 13:51Alex Cooper?

  Do you name them all?

• 13:52Speaker 01

  No, I haven't, not this time. I got too attached last time and it did, it made, made me really sad.

• 13:57Alex Cooper?

  Did the chickens die?

• 13:58Speaker 01

  Yeah. I took, I took my chicken to, to the vet. Um, to get a scan because something was wrong with her and the vet laughed at me and said, people don't bring chickens here.

• 14:12Speaker 01

  Um, and, and then they still charged me for an X-ray and then I, I took my chicken all the way home and cried. And she died in my arms.

• 14:20Alex Cooper?

  What are you saying? I'm like not laughing because it's funny.

• 14:23Speaker 01

  It's, it, it is kind of funny, but not because the chicken died, but it's just funny seeing me take a chicken to the vet.

• 14:29Alex Cooper?

  And when you say you're holding your chicken, like are you holding your chicken like this?

• 14:32Speaker 01

  Yeah, fully on my lap, yeah. She died on my lap.

• 14:36Alex Cooper?

  So you weren't crazy for going to the vet?

• 14:38Speaker 01

  No, yeah, she had something wrong with her. We tried to rescue him. They were gonna be, uh, slaughtered, I think. Um, and they had all kinds of things wrong with them, yeah. But I've got new chickens now and they're all healthy and stuff, but I didn't name them for that reason.

• 14:52Alex Cooper?

  Okay, and what are the names of the cats?

• 14:54Speaker 01

  Salem, uh, Dobby and Vito.

• 14:58Alex Cooper?

  Dobby, is that from Harry Potter?

• 14:59Speaker 01

  From Harry Potter. He's a Sphinx, he's a pink Sphinx, yeah. So he looks a little bit like Dobby.

• 15:04Alex Cooper?

  Dobby, Harry, that's so good. You're a Harry Potter fan.

• 15:09Speaker 01

  I'm a big Harry Potter fan.

• 15:10Alex Cooper?

  Zane, I didn't know that about you. I wouldn't have pegged you as like a Harry Potter guy. This is like really good vibes.

• 15:16Speaker 01

  It was, it was my thing as a kid, yeah.

• 15:18Alex Cooper?

  That's really good. Okay, and what are the dogs' names?

• 15:20Speaker 01

  Um, Zion, Zeus and Thumper.

• 15:24Alex Cooper?

  Thumper?

• 15:25Speaker 01

  With a F, with an F, yeah.

• 15:27Alex Cooper?

  Thumper?

• 15:27Speaker 01

  Thumper, like Thumper but with an F.

• 15:29Alex Cooper?

  How did you come up with that?

• 15:30Speaker 01

  Uh, Bambi, Thumper, the rabbit.

• 15:34Alex Cooper?

  But you wanted an F?

• 15:35Speaker 01

  Yeah, Thumper thought sounded better.

• 15:40Speaker 01

  It's better in my accent, Fumpa.

• 15:43Alex Cooper?

  Yeah, it does sound pretty good. Um, something I love to do on Call Her Daddy is like, the reason we all are the way that we are is because of our childhood, where we came from, who we were raised by, our environment growing up. Obviously, you living in Pennsylvania right now is so different from where you grew up in the UK in Bradford, like you described. Can you explain to people that may not be familiar with Bradford? Like, what was your upbringing like and what was that environment like?

• 16:09Speaker 01

  Um, where do you want me to start?

• 16:11Alex Cooper?

  Just wherever it feels right. Go ahead.

• 16:14Speaker 01

  Yeah, Bradford's not obviously like Pennsylvania in terms of, you know, like the wealth and the way that it's like, you know, looked after, taken care of. It's a, it's a impoverished community, you know? There's people below working class that, um, that have, you know, a hard environment that they're growing up in. You know, everyone's kind of got some issues going on at home or something's happening, you know? Even if it's on the street or whatever, wherever you go, there's, there's a lot of, um, confliction, you know? Um, so it, it was very different to, um, to hear in that sense for sure. But, um, I'm very grateful for where I grew up because it, it definitely, like you said, shaped and molded a lot of, um, identity for me.

• 16:58Speaker 01

  Um, early on, I was questioned, you know, and like interrogated about my identity because of my environment. Like, it's just the way it is. Like, you have to have a good understanding of who you are. Um, and, uh, I'm really grateful for that, you know? It helped cement, um, my own identity myself, I think.

• 17:18Alex Cooper?

  When you talk about like people would question your identity, I know your family is not from the UK. Your family is Pakistani. And I'm curious, is that what?

• 17:27Speaker 01

  My father is, my, my, my mom's English.

• 17:30Alex Cooper?

  Okay.

• 17:30Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 17:30Alex Cooper?

  So did, are you saying like, is that how that was influenced?

• 17:34Speaker 01

  No, not necessarily just in, in every sense of the word. Like even like your fashion, the clothes you want to wear, the way you want to cut your hair. It was always something was questioned, you know? If you weren't doing the norm, that was like, that everybody would do, was doing or everyone was following, you know? Everyone would wear a certain type of pant or a certain type of shoe. And if you weren't dressed that way, you would get questioned about it, you know? Like, people would be very like in your face and be like, give you shit. So you had to like have a bit about you so that you could, you know, know who you were and have a conversation back. I have a bit of wits about you as it is, you know, street smarts for sure.

• 18:07Alex Cooper?

  You gotta be able to like, hold your own.

• 18:08Speaker 01

  Exactly, yeah.

• 18:09Alex Cooper?

  And when you say people are coming at you, is it more like peer dynamics of, or is it more like authoritative figures?

• 18:15Speaker 01

  There's, there's a, yeah, there's a, a, a balance, a, a mix, sorry, of, of everything. It's, um, it depends, you know, there's, there's the peer pressure in schools and stuff, but then it's on the street. If you go out there and stuff, if you're just trying to have a good time, you know, like it's not, um, as friend friendly fun, you know, it's, it's a bit more like, um, irate, there's, there's, there's a bit of, bit of aggression going on, you know what I mean? Yeah.

• 18:41Alex Cooper?

  Talk to me about where you grew up. Like, are you in an apartment? Are you in a condo?

• 18:46Speaker 01

  Oh, no, we, we, I grew up in a, in a terraced house, um, uh, in a rented property. Um, we never owned our, our own house. Um, so, yeah, it was, it was a small house. There was like three bedrooms, kitchen, living room, but the streets like are all like, every house is like stuck next to the one, next to it, you know what I'm saying? It's, there's no space. You have a garden that's like, like enough for maybe a dog to sit in. Um, so, yeah, it's, it's a bit different for sure. Yeah.

• 19:16Alex Cooper?

  So you have three sisters?

• 19:17Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 19:18Alex Cooper?

  Okay. And so you are the one boy and three sisters.

• 19:22Speaker 01

  I did have three sisters, yeah.

• 19:23Alex Cooper?

  What was it like growing up with all mostly women around you? Like, how do you think that shaped you?

• 19:29Speaker 01

  Um, I feel like I learned a lot of things like early on. Um, my sisters are, are very opinionated, you know, they're very, um, strong characters. Um, and, uh, yeah, I love them. They're great. They're, they're a lot of fun. Yeah. It was always entertaining in our house for sure.

• 19:47Alex Cooper?

  I love, I really love when I meet a guy and I'm, you can just tell that he has sisters. Because you can just tell the way they move around women. You guys learn what a fucking tampon is earlier.

• 20:01Speaker 01

  I had to go to the store and buy them.

• 20:03Alex Cooper?

  Wow, so you were like really supporting that time of the month. Terrified. But supportive.

• 20:08Speaker 01

  For sure.

• 20:10Alex Cooper?

  Were you reluctant to go to the store and buy?

• 20:12Speaker 01

  Definitely not. It was just kinda weird like when the shopkeeper would ask me like why I was buying them. And I'm like, obviously, I'm not buying them for myself, you know, like, do you have to ask me that? Like, just let me buy this.

• 20:22Alex Cooper?

  You wouldn't stick like a couple extra like snacks around it? You're just like tampons.

• 20:26Speaker 01

  We didn't have money for extra snacks. It was just, it needs to remain, yeah.

• 20:31Alex Cooper?

  Zane's like, I'll take the supers, these bitches are on it.

• 20:34Speaker 01

  The other way around. But yeah, exactly. It was always an awkward conversation, but yeah, I didn't mind it.

• 20:40Alex Cooper?

  I respect it. I really do. Okay, to people obviously that weren't there in your childhood, how would you describe your personality as a kid?

• 20:50Speaker 01

  My personality as a kid, I think I was a bit of a cheeky, cheeky chappy. Yeah, I used to mischievous, used to get into all kinds of just childish stuff, you know, like climbing in places I shouldn't have been and falling out of trees and smashing windows and stupid things, yeah. With a football, accidentally of course, you know.

• 21:12Alex Cooper?

  Right, right, for sure, for sure. So you were getting in trouble a little bit.

• 21:15Speaker 01

  Just like childish stuff, you know, nothing too serious.

• 21:18Alex Cooper?

  Yeah, like climbing trees.

• 21:19Speaker 01

  Exactly, yeah, exciting shit.

• 21:21Alex Cooper?

  Okay, so you were kind of just like doing your thing as a kid, but I also think the way that you're describing the environment that you grew up, was there a way that you could have gone down the wrong path easily because of that environment? It was easy to get wrapped up in the wrong crowd?

• 21:37Speaker 01

  Oh, definitely, yeah. I think there was always an opportunity to go and do something that, you know, would have got you in like serious trouble. I was really lucky in a sense that like my mother and father like were super protective of that environment. My dad was always aware of, you know, the things that were out there and he always explained stuff to me from a young age. And kinda kept me away from that, if I'm being honest. And that's where like I developed into being a person that likes to be by myself and like in my room, like. Singing, recording, writing, I got into, you know, poetry and things like that, cause I was in my room a lot like. Um, and I didn't like to be in them kind of environments, it was just uh a bit too much, you know.

• 22:21Speaker 01

  I was always a bit more of a reserved kind of guy, but you know, artistic, wanted to do my own thing. I didn't really wanna be in that, so. My parents did a good job of keeping me away from it, I think, yeah.

• 22:32Alex Cooper?

  Did you get along with kids in school? Were you like the cool kid? Were you bullied? Like, what was the vibe?

• 22:37Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think I got on with with pretty much everyone, but I wasn't like, I I was the type of person who only had like two, three close friends. I didn't have like a big group, like I knew people, people knew of me. I don't think I was the cool kid. But I wasn't bullied either, yeah, like I if if people knew me, they were friendly with me, yeah.

• 22:56Alex Cooper?

  Yeah, I feel like a lot of kids, we always have that like memory. Maybe it's financial, maybe it's something with the parents or the siblings or extended family, like. Of like a childhood memory that you remember your family kind of just being like stressed. Or going through something difficult, kind of like if you could remember kind of a childhood memory that you remember just being like. Stressed about something in your life.

• 23:22Speaker 01

  Like, looking back at like childhood stresses, like I I feel like a lot of them were so like. Finicky that it was just probably just some teenage shit, you know what I mean? It wasn't anything important. Um, so I don't really look back at things like that in my personality, the way I am, like I. I've never really like looked back and been like, oh yeah, this is one thing that like kind of was, you know, a stressful thing. I think. Life is interesting like that. I think, you know, it depends on what you're going through at that time and how you feel, and then you can reflect on it. A different point and feel completely differently about it.

• 23:55Alex Cooper?

  It's so interesting, I have a lot of respect even for you answering it like that, cause I know that you've been open about like at one point, your family being on food stamps. And I feel like a lot of people would sit here and that may have been the answer, right? That would have been like, well, fuck, like I couldn't even, I didn't know where my next meal was. And you're like, oh, you know, maybe it was childish shit, like no big deal. And it's like, that's interesting if you.

• 24:17Speaker 01

  Yeah, no, and obviously there there is, there was some serious things like that for sure too, but. I don't look back at it in in terms of a negative light, you know, it all helped to like. Shape and mold who I am and uh make me grateful for the things that I have now, you know.

• 24:32Alex Cooper?

  Yeah. So we are here because you can sing. When did you first realize you were passionate about singing and you could sing?

• 24:41Speaker 01

  Um, I think I was about eleven, twelve. Um, I'd sung a little bit before, like I'd done a bit in, in like school choir and stuff. Um, funny story, I actually fancied like these three girls that were in choir. Um, and they were triplets and that's why I just was like, I'm gonna be in choir just so I can hang around these girls. Um, and then it developed from there when, uh, I went into high school. I went to a performing arts college, like specifically like majored in, in sports and performing arts. And, um, they were doing the school production that year for Greets and I auditioned. Um, and nobody could sing like at all, like in our whole school.

• 25:26Speaker 01

  And I went and did this like singing audition. Everyone was like, whoa, you can sing. And then my, um, music teacher like recommended that I get like a couple of singing lessons and stuff. Um, and then she said, I think you should go on X Factor. I think you've got a good chance like, and it just kinda went from there like.

• 25:44Alex Cooper?

  I love that the story started with, you know, there were these three triplets. And it just felt right to join choir.

• 25:53Speaker 01

  I was like eight as well, by the way.

• 25:56Alex Cooper?

  So swaggy. You're like, I gotta get in that class.

• 25:59Speaker 01

  To just, yeah, spend this time.

• 26:01Alex Cooper?

  Right. So like your natural, just like boy interests ended up, you realized something that you had a true talent. From the triplets to X Factor, you made it. So it's so funny too, because you say you wouldn't be where you are without your mom. Because you didn't wanna get out of bed the morning that you had the X Factor audition and your mom made you go. Why did you also not wanna go initially?

• 26:24Speaker 01

  Um, I think it was just nerves. Um, I, I built it up in my head and I was like, yo, this is a massive thing. And yeah, I was like, I don't think I'm gonna go today. And my mom's like, you are going, you're going right now. You're gonna go see what happens. So yeah, definitely owe it to her for that, for sure.

• 26:40Alex Cooper?

  My god. And so did you like practice? You were practicing for it?

• 26:43Speaker 01

  Yeah, um, but I had no idea, no clue. Like they, they told us like, we had to have like, um, a backing track. Like a, a karaoke version and like I was sort of like inexperienced at that time. I didn't even know what that was. So like, I was just planning on singing a cappella. So I was just. Gonna do it like without anything. Um, and it was so weird for me to adjust to singing on a backing track. I was like, this is uh such a weird experience. I think even Simon looked at me a little bit weird, like when I did the acapella, cause everybody had backing tracks and stuff, but yeah.

• 27:16Alex Cooper?

  So that probably made you stand out, though.

• 27:17Speaker 01

  I don't know. It could have worked either way. Maybe it made me sound really bad, too.

• 27:21Alex Cooper?

  No, well, obviously not. Look where you're fucking sitting.

• 27:24Speaker 01

  Yeah, true.

• 27:25Alex Cooper?

  Do you remember what you sang?

• 27:27Speaker 01

  Uh, yeah, I do. Mario, let me love you. And the reason I said that is because I've seen that uh performance back a few times and cringed every time I watched it. Uh, so yeah, it's not my best vocal performance. There's a lot of nerves involved there for sure.

• 27:41Alex Cooper?

  But clearly there was something in there, Zane.

• 27:43Speaker 01

  There's some talent, yeah. There's some potential.

• 27:45Alex Cooper?

  Acapella and he just nails it.

• 28:04Alex Cooper?

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• 28:44Alex Cooper?

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• 28:56Speaker 01

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• 28:59Alex Cooper?

  Let me tell you something. When I am hungry and I am trying to figure out what to eat, sometimes you can just actually become so, you're angry. You're like, I am busy, I'm hungry, I'm getting hangry, I'm getting angry. What can I eat? I need something hot and delicious and low maintenance. Well, introducing Stouffer's dinners are not only delicious, they're done in a flash. Serve up their classic lasagna, chicken pesto, or carbonara for two. Whatever you're craving, Stouffer's is your hot, delicious, easy meal fantasy. When the clock strikes dinner, think Stouffer's. You can see all the delicious options at Stouffer's.com. When you look back at that moment, obviously, is it surreal? Like, if you even had to like,

• 29:42Alex Cooper?

  watch it back? Like, is it, does it even feel like a lifetime ago?

• 29:45Speaker 01

  Yeah, it does. It feels like so much longer than it actually was, because so much stuff's happened in that time. Yeah, it's very interesting, very surreal. And I feel all them nerves to get, like, when I watch it, like, I feel like I could, like, give myself a hug, you know, and be like, it's okay, bro. Because I literally, I'm like, holding on to the mic for dear life. Please, nobody hurt me.

• 30:11Alex Cooper?

  It's so good. It's so good. So, obviously, then, X Factor, everyone, Simon, everyone came to you guys, and they had this idea to invent One Direction. And then I, I think people don't, I don't even know, like, did you even meet anyone before they put you guys together?

• 30:26Speaker 01

  Yeah, we knew each other, like, just from around.

• 30:29Alex Cooper?

  Okay.

• 30:29Speaker 01

  Because we were like, a similar age and stuff. So naturally, you speak to people who are like, a similar age to you around there and stuff. And we were at boot camp together, and we'd, I met Harry on my audition day, because we both auditioned in Manchester. And we literally sat next to each other in the audition.

• 30:47Alex Cooper?

  Oh, so it was like, fucking meant to be?

• 30:48Speaker 01

  He was sat right next to me, we spoke, and I went in and did like, a producing audition round, and then he went in straight after me. And we spoke a little bit there, yeah.

• 30:56Alex Cooper?

  So you weren't complete strangers? That's good to know. Because I didn't know if they, like, just threw you all together, and then you were like, hey, what's up?

• 31:02Speaker 01

  It's edited very well, obviously. You know, you don't see all the behind the scenes and stuff. But yeah, you spend a lot of time with the contestants.

• 31:07Alex Cooper?

  Okay, got it. Once you started, obviously, One Direction, and you joined One Direction, like, how quickly did your actual life change? Was it overnight, immediate, or was it a little bit gradual?

• 31:18Speaker 01

  Um, it was kind of strange. The, like,

• 31:23Speaker 01

  Visual evidence of life changing, like people being outside of the the studio and stuff was like. Um, when we were on the live shows, um, we started to get like a a fan base and an audience and. You could see that people were paying interest in us, um. So, yeah, from that point on, like, it was kind of a bit crazy.

• 31:45Alex Cooper?

  Like, what, were you even able to comprehend it?

• 31:48Speaker 01

  Uh, not really. I don't think uh comprehended it at all. Like, I think it's just a rush, you know, it was like just fun. Um, and then repetitive fun over and over again eventually is gonna take its toll, you know what I mean? So then you look at it a certain way when you're in that and like it feels overbearing. Now I look back at it like it was a rush, you know, it was it was fun, it was and it was something that was. Amazing, like, so of course I wasn't gonna understand it, it's not something I expected in my life, but. Um, it was definitely fun for sure, yeah.

• 32:20Alex Cooper?

  Cause it is so interesting. I think people forget, like, you were seventeen at the time.

• 32:25Speaker 01

  Yeah, seventeen, yeah.

• 32:26Alex Cooper?

  Like, my brother lived in this house at seventeen and was like picking his nose and going to Wawa and like trying to fucking get girls to pay attention to him. And you are like, all of a sudden overnight become one of the biggest stars in the world. Can you help us, commoners over here, Zane, commoners? Can you help us understand, like, what skyrocketing to that level of fame? Can do to you as an individual when you're like by yourself at night, laying in bed, trying to understand like what is happening to you? In your life?

• 32:58Speaker 01

  Um, yeah, you could, you can definitely get into, you know, um, deep places of thought if you really reflect on it in that kind of manner. Um, to be honest with you, I don't think I was even like intellectually capable to to do that at that age, you know, like, I think. It's took time for me to process them things. I think I've had to like process it with an with an older. Um, mind and and look at backwards and be like, yo, this was. Why this happened and this is what happened and you know, we took off at this point and this interview made this happen and then this song made this happen and just decipher it, you know, uh as like

• 33:36Speaker 01

  facts rather than like in an emotional manner, cause um emotion like just seems to just blur things, you know? So I I try not to think about them things on that kind of level like, oh, I'm super famous like I just make music, you know, I love singing and people seem to have an interest in it.

• 33:56Alex Cooper?

  Yeah, yeah, a little bit, just a little bit. No, I almost get what you're saying like you kind of have to black it out and just be present because if you stop to think about all of it, then it's all gonna come.

• 34:08Speaker 01

  Exactly, yeah, that's how I deal with it. I don't black it out so much, but I just don't overthink, you know, um. It it works for me that way, I think.

• 34:17Alex Cooper?

  Yeah, you just almost have to stay present because it's like what else.

• 34:20Speaker 01

  In the moment, yeah, just enjoy it. And then like in, you know, ten years' time, you can look back and be like, this is what happened.

• 34:25Alex Cooper?

  Like now you can look at it in hindsight and be like.

• 34:28Speaker 01

  If you have ten years' time, but.

• 34:29Alex Cooper?

  Right, right, right.

• 34:30Speaker 01

  That luxury.

• 34:31Alex Cooper?

  Yeah, but you've had time probably now to be like, whoa, in your quiet moments now in life where you can actually sit and dissect things that at seventeen, eighteen years old, again, like you said, I was just having fun. I was just going with it. And also, it's not like you were just on this solo tour, like you were a part of something. So that also probably affected of like be a good team player, like go with the flow, like do what you gotta do. Um, obviously, your guys' fans are insane. They're obsessed, they're still obsessed, they're everywhere, they love you guys. Can you share any like memorable fan moments that you remember to this day that have stuck with you of just like anything that happened that you're like, damn?

• 35:13Speaker 01

  Um, I've I've probably said this a lot of times, but honestly, it was one of the craziest and and most bizarre moments ever. Um, I remember coming out of a uh the studio once in Sweden when we were recording What Makes You Beautiful. And this is before even we dropped our first single and there was like a row of like maybe five, six bins, like trash cans, like outside of the studio. And I came out and like every single one of the trash cans opens and there's like three people inside of each trash. And they tried to like grab me and it was it was a very memorable moment. That was for sure. Yeah, I think I had a mini heart attack.

• 35:50Alex Cooper?

  Humans popped out from garbage cans and tried to grab you.

• 35:55Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 35:55Alex Cooper?

  It's like a fucking video game.

• 35:56Speaker 01

  Yeah, it was.

• 35:57Alex Cooper?

  Swallow you into the fucking. What?

• 36:00Speaker 01

  Yeah, it was funny.

• 36:01Alex Cooper?

  Oh, wow. Do you think that in any way?

• 36:05Speaker 01

  That's dedication though, right? Like to get into a trash can, like.

• 36:08Alex Cooper?

  Zane, they were willing to get in the trash bucket for you. Motherfuckers, they are loyal.

• 36:14Speaker 01

  They are.

• 36:15Alex Cooper?

  Do you think that those kind of moments, though, not that we don't love the fans, we're obsessed, but like, people being so obsessed with you, like, is there any lingering paranoia from people constantly staring at you and following you? No.

• 36:30Speaker 01

  No, not really. I don't have paranoia in that sense, no.

• 36:34Alex Cooper?

  That's good. You sleep well.

• 36:35Speaker 01

  Yeah, I do. I sleep in Pennsylvania.

• 36:37Alex Cooper?

  Yeah, I know. Look, it's raining.

• 36:39Speaker 01

  I can hear the crickets. It's amazing. There's, there's no crazy people out there.

• 36:44Alex Cooper?

  No one crazy in Pennsylvania. Oh, that's debatable. You're performing in front of massive crowds and I, I know you're kind of saying like you were in the moment, but like, were you able to just easily get in front of all these people? Was there no fear or anxiety that came with like standing in front of thousands and hundreds of thousands of people when you're on stage?

• 37:04Speaker 01

  Um, I think there was, but I don't think we had time for it. Like, there was no like, you have time to have anxiety or be nervous. You're just kind of gonna go do it, you know, like get on with it. Um, so, yeah. We just, we can't, I think we just got thrown into the deep end and we kind of just had to swim, you know, like, um, and I feel like we did a good job, like in terms of like, you know, the, the keeping it together and, and making the music that we were meant to make. I think I got out at the right time. I think if I'd have done it any longer, it might have affected me a bit more, but, um, I think, uh, we did the right amount, you know?

• 37:44Alex Cooper?

  I think it's interesting too, because when you look at. Bands, or even just like any brand that has like multiple people attached to it. Like, everyone loves to put archetypes with people, like the Spice Girls, for example, perfect example. You have to label everyone. And so for a boy band, it would be like the boy next door, like the bad boy, like the in, like the brooding one or the funny one. Like, what persona do you think you played?

• 38:08Speaker 01

  They should make out that I was like the, the brooding, serious one. Yeah. But that wasn't necessarily my personality type. Just, I think it just a marketing scheme, you know, you've got the Teletubbies, you've got Spice Girls, you've got whatever, like, it's just a marketing scheme, you know, like, oh, this is this one. Um, so I get it. Um, but I, I don't, I, I don't think you can define a, an entire person to one personality trait, you know, we're a little bit more complex than that. Um, yeah, I don't know what my trait would have been if I'd have given myself one. It might took a long time to, to come up with one if I was gonna do that. So I could see why they, they just said, oh, yeah, you can be the mysterious one.

• 38:49Alex Cooper?

  Yeah, it's interesting. Uh, I love the Teletubby reference. You're like, the Teletubbies, the Spice Girls, One Direction. I'm like, the fucking Teletubbies.

• 38:56Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think Simon was behind the Teletubbies too.

• 39:01Speaker 01

  Yeah, and the Power Rangers, yeah.

• 39:04Alex Cooper?

  It's so fucking crazy. It's all coming full circle.

• 39:10Alex Cooper?

  Fuck. No, but it's interesting. So I was gonna ask, like, I agree. You kind of had this, like, brooding, mysterious personality, and that's why I'm excited to sit down with you today because, again, those stereotypes that were put onto people, I'm curious if, first of all, who comes up with that? Marketing people? I guess. Yeah, it's not like the fans. It's kind of just happened.

• 39:29Speaker 01

  Well, yeah, and maybe some, some of the fans kind of like naturally say this too, you know what I mean? From black pictures and things like that, like.

• 39:37Alex Cooper?

  So you, did you agree? So you didn't agree with it, but do you think you leaned into it more or do you was like?

• 39:43Speaker 01

  I think I just had one face to pull, you know, in, in my, I was doing the Zoolander, like, that was it, you know what I mean? I was only a young kid. I didn't know what else to do.

• 39:52Alex Cooper?

  I get it. If anything, maybe it made it easier because you're like, this is just my lane.

• 39:56Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 39:56Alex Cooper?

  This is me.

• 39:57Speaker 01

  We'll just stick with this. They won't ask me too many questions.

• 39:59Alex Cooper?

  Do you think you're mysterious?

• 40:01Speaker 01

  Um, not really. I just, uh, I just like to just like chill, you know, like to be in the back a little bit.

• 40:08Alex Cooper?

  Yeah.

• 40:09Speaker 01

  Yeah, I'm a bit more relaxed. I'm not like trying to like be in your face, you know?

• 40:13Alex Cooper?

  You're not trying to jump in front.

• 40:14Speaker 01

  Yeah, exactly.

• 40:15Alex Cooper?

  Okay, well now you're solo, so you gotta jump in front, Zane. Okay, we're gonna get there.

• 40:20Speaker 01

  Take the reins.

• 40:20Alex Cooper?

  Um, I love how you kind of mentioned, you know, you got out at the right time. And I think that you leaving the band obviously shook the fucking world and everyone was like, Zane, like, no, like, keep it together. But I think what, again, we forget is you're a human being and you clearly had to take care of your mental health and do what was best for you. Can you, I know you've lightly talked about this, but just so we get a full circle moment, can you just take us back to that moment of like actually sitting with yourself and knowing it was time to leave?

• 40:53Speaker 01

  Uh, yeah, I think I'd known for a minute. There was a lot of, look, I don't want to go into too much detail, but there was a lot of politics going on. Um, certain people were doing certain things, certain people didn't want to sign contracts. So I knew something was happening. Um, so I just got ahead of the curve. If I'm being honest with you, I was like, I'm just gonna get out of here. I think this is done. And I'd just seen it. Um, and I completely selfishly wanted to be the first person to go and make my own record. If I'm being completely honest with you, I was like, I'm gonna jump the gun here for the first time. I'm a passive dude, but when it comes to my music and, uh, and my business, I'm serious about it and I'm competitive. So I wanted to be the first to go and do my own thing. That's, that was the reason.

• 41:35Speaker 01

  And then there was obviously underlying issues like within our friendships too. We'd been together every day for five years and we'd got sick of each other, if I'm being completely honest. So we were, we were close, you know, we'd done crazy things with each other and that nobody else in the world will ever understand or have them experiences that we've shared with each other. And I look back on it now in a much fonder light than I would have, you know, as I'd just left. Um, they were great experiences. I had great times with them, but yeah, we just run our course.

• 42:04Alex Cooper?

  I love that you're saying that too, because I think people can relate to that of like, if you're with the same people 24/7, no shit. And I think I can imagine as you guys were younger. Everyone was so idealizing this band that you couldn't say that back in the day of like, yeah, we got fucking sick of each other. It was time to like do our own things. And I think that's so okay. But because there was this obsession, obviously, I get it. There's nostalgia.

• 42:28Speaker 01

  For sure. Yeah, it's an idea, isn't it? It's like when you watch Friends, you you don't want Joey cutting off Chandler, you know what I mean? You want these people to be best friends. Like, it's an idea.

• 42:37Alex Cooper?

  Yeah, you want them to stay together forever, but I also think it's so healthy. Because imagine if you hadn't ended it, then you really would have fucking hate each other. And being able to go on your own way. Also, someone always has to be the first one to leave.

• 42:50Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 42:50Alex Cooper?

  And maybe it's the best thing for it, but in the time, I can imagine there's hurt feelings. Um, were you afraid of what the world was gonna think of you when you made that decision?

• 43:00Speaker 01

  Um, I don't think I was afraid. No, um, I just, um, the first thing I wanted to do was, uh, call my mom.

• 43:09Speaker 01

  As cheesy as that sounds, I just wanted to call her and be like, is it okay if I come home? Like, is this, this, is this good? Like, and she was like, yeah. So as soon as she said that, I was like, yeah, I'm good. Like, I'm, I'm done. Like, I'm over this. I don't, I didn't really care about what anybody else thought. That's, that's the type of person I am. Like, we were talking about earlier, I try to close them opinions off. I'm not really the type of person who defines myself on other people's opinions of myself. If people know me and know me well, they know who I am. Um, and I spend that time on them people and make sure that they, you know, looked after and they get that time with me rather than the people that I'm never necessarily even gonna see or, you know, have a conversation with. Especially if it's a negative remark, you know?

• 43:51Speaker 01

  Positive remarks are always nice. I, I don't really pay attention to either of them, if I'm being completely honest with you. Just don't let it get in my head.

• 43:58Alex Cooper?

  I think that's so smart because I think social media, even if you're not famous, like, everyone is feeding themselves and their worth by what other people are saying about them. And it's like, you good with your family? And like, I don't mean family by blood. Like, you may not be good with your, who are your fam-

• 44:14Speaker 01

  People that you have around you, yeah, your circle, yeah. And as long as they're good, then that's all that matters to me, yeah.

• 44:20Alex Cooper?

  But did you not tell your mom you were doing it?

• 44:23Speaker 01

  Uh, did I not tell my mom I was leaving?

• 44:25Alex Cooper?

  Yeah.

• 44:25Speaker 01

  No, I, I, it was like kind of spurred a moment. Like, I'd, I'd not told her beforehand, like, oh, I'm thinking of leaving. Um, I just called her on that day that I was leaving and said, I'm coming home. Is it okay if you still go to bed for me? And she was like, yeah. Yeah, man, so it's My dad wasn't so cool about it. He was like, no, no, you got to stay with Simon. Simon's gonna stay. You're right. Like, don't come home. Stay there. Uh, but my mom was like, yeah, you can come home. Please, son, come home, you know?

• 44:53Alex Cooper?

  Oh, my god, that's actually really cute that the first person like, Mom, do you have a bed for me? She's like, let's go. Cause didn't you also buy your mom? One of the first things you did with your successes, you bought her a home? How cool was that to be able to buy your mom something?

• 45:08Speaker 01

  It's a great feeling.

• 45:09Alex Cooper?

  Wild. Um, okay, so you leave the band and ta- take me to when you're laying in your mom's home, you're in bed. What were those next couple of weeks like for you, like mentally and emotionally?

• 45:23Speaker 01

  It was interesting. I was just trying to get stuff together. Like, uh, I wanted to get like a plan of action, you know what I mean? So I was like on a bit of a mission. I wasn't there too long. I went home for a little bit and then I went back to London and started working and stuff.

• 45:37Alex Cooper?

  That must have been so stressful too, because I feel like, I guess we see it in various different forms, but like if you make a jump, even if someone like quits their job, right? They're like, I need to prove to myself and other people that like, I now can do it. Like, and so did you put pressure on yourself when obviously you came out? Being solo, like, were you fucking nervous?

• 45:57Speaker 01

  Yeah, for sure. It's a very different experience standing on stage by yourself to like, it's a whole different workload as well. Singing three and a half minutes of a song completely by yourself. Like, when you've got a song divvied between five people, you're singing a little bit of a verse, maybe some ad-libs, you know? I preferred the workload, I'm gonna be honest.

• 46:16Alex Cooper?

  You're like taking a nap in the back.

• 46:20Speaker 01

  Yeah, oh, yeah, nice one. Um, but yeah, it, it, it, I just kinda had to like make an adjustment. I started practicing a lot more, singing a lot more and just like making sure I could sing for three minutes.

• 46:32Alex Cooper?

  Right. You had to be like, I need to get back to my let me love you days where I'm like back on X Factor. It's just me. I'm curious, and I don't know, because I know you were saying, and I, I totally respected of like, you were kinda just in this phase of going, going, going, and you didn't have time to stop. But when you did go solo and you left, did you have to take any moment to be like, who the fuck am I independent of? Now not being a part of something that I was identified as in media?

• 47:01Speaker 01

  Um, yeah, definitely. I think that's why I've took the time I have to like, not even necessarily do interviews and do too much like press exposure because I feel like we were so overexposed in the band that like it takes a bit of time for you naturally to progress as a human and give something else that is interesting that you have to say. You don't wanna be sat there just saying the same shit on repeat, you know what I mean, day in, day out. Like, I think there should be a good healthy break in between and that was my approach to it for sure. So, um, I feel like, uh, in terms of, you know, figuring out what your identity is as, as an artist, the only way you're gonna do that is by living, you know, you can't just

• 47:44Speaker 01

  be on the conveyor belt and expect to have any sort of experience that's new that you're gonna give people.

• 47:49Alex Cooper?

  I love that too, cuz I feel like people, especially creators, there's such a stress about taking a break. And it doesn't mean you're actually taking a break. You could be working your ass off, yeah. But like popping out of the scene.

• 48:03Speaker 01

  Not doing it in the spotlight, yeah.

• 48:04Alex Cooper?

  Yeah. And you, were you able to just not have anxiety about it? Cuz you're like, I know I'm coming back, but it's like, I gotta just be good on my own shit and not be fulfilling the tabloids and everyone else. Like, how am I on my own right now?

• 48:15Speaker 01

  Exactly, yeah. That's, that was the whole thought behind it for sure.

• 48:19Alex Cooper?

  So you start doing your own solo music. And I remember when you came out, Pillow Talk, all the good stuff. You popped off and it's like really dope to see you coming out with your own sound and creative and it's you. And that's exciting to know, like, you are producing this and it's not obviously, no shade to One Direction, but like, you're one of five. Like, you can't really have a full say in shit. Now this is you. When you started on your solo career, like, was there anything that you really wanted to make sure that you could bring to life that maybe you weren't able to when you were in a band? Quite creatively.

• 48:58Speaker 01

  Creatively, I just wanted to talk about things, you know, that were a bit more real, like an authentic um to situations I was going through in my life. Like, obviously, certain things that we would talk about in the band was always very, you know, clean, cut, like just glazing over the top, not really any depth or any stories to what's going on. Um, and that was always a a big thing for me. Obviously, I understand, again, from a marketing scheme that like, the the audience and the fanbase we were appealing to at that point was that kind of vibe. So, it was never gonna work um for that kind of audience. But yeah, I just wanted to show people that had a bit more depth.

• 49:37Alex Cooper?

  Yeah, yeah. I get that, cause like, even earlier, you said like, you like to write poetry. And I'm like, I can only imagine how much the writing process is therapeutic, and you get to infuse parts of yourself and your identity, whereas that just like wasn't in the past, which it shouldn't have been. Like, it was a band, it was great, whatever. But now you can actually artistically exercise that part of yourself, which must be.

• 50:00Speaker 01

  I think it's difficult for people to write songs even from one one perspective, you know, like, there was five of us in the room when we used to write sometimes, and it was so hard to get us all to like, have the same viewpoint and uh wanna talk about the same thing. Um, so in that sense, from a creative point, it is uh, a lot more freeing for me. Like, I can fully get to grips with every part of it, you know, the melody, the the story, the production, the the emotion, the feeling that I'm trying to convey in in each song. So, in in that sense, it's super liberating.

• 50:31Alex Cooper?

  It's cool, cause I I think you're getting now, we're getting to know you a little bit better now that you are doing solo music. But do you think? Do you think that the world even like slightly knows Zayn yet?

• 50:45Speaker 01

  Um, I don't know. Um, I I try to uh like move in a certain way that, you know, hopefully I will still have some juice, you know? I don't want to, don't wanna give everything I only one got. So, um, if they don't know everything yet, that's okay. But hopefully they get to know me a bit better in this interview, you know?

• 51:06Alex Cooper?

  See?

• 51:07Speaker 01

  They they get to see my thought patterns.

• 51:10Alex Cooper?

  Still a little mysterious, Zayn.

• 51:11Speaker 01

  I'm trying, I'm trying. I'm trying to be an open book.

• 51:14Alex Cooper?

  We like it. Okay, how about this?

• 51:16Speaker 01

  Uh huh.

• 51:17Alex Cooper?

  Describe yourself in three words.

• 51:20Speaker 01

  Describe myself in three words?

• 51:22Alex Cooper?

  Mm hmm.

• 51:23Speaker 01

  Um.

• 51:27Speaker 01

  Well, I'm definitely not gonna use mysterious as one of them. Um, I would say, um, I'm a chill.

• 51:40Speaker 01

  Funny.

• 51:43Speaker 01

  Loving guy.

• 51:44Alex Cooper?

  All the girls watching this, you're like, ah, so nice. That's so nice. What's your favorite thing about yourself?

• 51:51Speaker 01

  Um, I don't know. I think I I think I I like the fact that I'm I'm pretty witty. Like, I'm I'm pretty smart, like, and I enjoy that about myself, I think.

• 52:04Alex Cooper?

  You're good company with yourself.

• 52:06Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah. I en- I enjoy that I'm pretty smart and I have a little laugh to myself, you know, about that.

• 52:12Alex Cooper?

  Um, what's your least favorite thing about yourself?

• 52:16Speaker 01

  Um, I'm a bit sensitive sometimes.

• 52:21Speaker 01

  Yeah, not in a bad way, like, yeah, I could like take things the wrong way sometimes. I can, I'm definitely working on that.

• 52:27Alex Cooper?

  Like, give me an example.

• 52:28Speaker 01

  Like, I just like tend to like, if somebody says something to me, like, I'll take it the wrong way if I can really care about their opinion, what they're saying to me.

• 52:36Alex Cooper?

  Got it.

• 52:36Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 52:37Alex Cooper?

  Then you'll get upset.

• 52:37Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 52:38Alex Cooper?

  I think that's good, though. That means you care.

• 52:40Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 52:41Alex Cooper?

  Right?

• 52:41Speaker 01

  Yeah, like I said, with the people that are close to me.

• 52:44Alex Cooper?

  Right. Do you think you at times can be too caring in moments that you need to learn to like?

• 52:52Speaker 01

  I'm I'm learning to to be to be a bit more term with it, yeah.

• 52:56Alex Cooper?

  Well, boundaries.

• 52:58Speaker 01

  Yeah, no, not not boundaries, just like I'm just learning not to like get in my head about certain things, you know, um, across the board. Like, I I exercise that well in terms of like dealing with the media and things like that, but I don't necessarily do that too well in my personal life. Sometimes I take things out, yeah.

• 53:15Alex Cooper?

  That's good, though. Again, it does mean you care. But I get then you're like, yeah, but then I'm over here like dying inside. I gotta like muster up the courage to be like.

• 53:23Speaker 01

  Then I go write a song.

• 53:24Alex Cooper?

  Yeah, yeah. Put that into a song, okay? Uh, give us one that's like really sad, so we can like cry.

• 53:28Speaker 01

  Oh, I've got a few. I've got a few.

• 53:30Alex Cooper?

  Oh, really?

• 53:30Speaker 01

  Few really sad ones, yeah.

• 53:31Alex Cooper?

  Mm hmm. See, this is what we need, see? We need some criers.

• 53:34Speaker 01

  We've got some cry moments.

• 53:36Alex Cooper?

  What do you think is the biggest misunderstanding about you?

• 53:41Speaker 01

  Um, that I'm like super serious, like that I like just, I'm like super stern and serious, yeah, all the time, and I'm not like, um, I'm just chill. I, I, I know that like, a lot of people have like, um, high energy personalities and it's just not the way I am. It's, you know what I'm saying? I'm just a bit more relaxed about things.

• 54:06Alex Cooper?

  It's actually nice to be in person with you because I could see in media, it could come off, I get it, like, serious. You're literally just chilling.

• 54:15Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 54:16Alex Cooper?

  You're relaxed.

• 54:17Speaker 01

  I'm just relaxed.

• 54:17Alex Cooper?

  You're, you're cozy in your sweater. There's thunder, there's rain.

• 54:22Speaker 01

  We're Pennsylvania. Didn't even have to drive too far. Came from your mom's house.

• 54:42Alex Cooper?

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• 55:23Alex Cooper?

  vaginal health, and baby's immune health. I have been trying so hard to take care of myself during this pregnancy, and I think something that has been very Helpful is actually learning about the things that now I will carry, not only just during this pregnancy, but I will continue to take care of myself in a way that I really never have before. I think sometimes as women, we don't have the tools or we don't know what we're supposed to be doing. And so we sometimes just freeze and we don't do anything. And since having Ritual in my life, it has been so nice to have this daily ritual where I'm actually taking care of myself and my baby, which feels great. So whether you're pregnant, postpartum, or looking for everyday trusted daily gut support, get clinically

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  studied biotics to support your gut health with Ritual. My listeners can save 25% off their first month at ritual.com/callherdaddy. That's ritual.com/callherdaddy for 25% off your first month. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Call Her Daddy is brought to you by Stouffer's. Let me tell you something. When I am hungry and I am trying to figure out what to eat, sometimes you can just actually become so you're angry. You're like, I am busy. I'm hungry. I'm getting hangry. I'm getting angry. What can I eat? I need something hot and delicious and low maintenance. Well, introducing

• 56:47Alex Cooper?

  Stouffer's dinners are not only delicious, they're done in a flash. Serve up their classic lasagna, chicken pesto, or carbonara for two. Whatever you're craving, Stouffer's is your hot, delicious, easy meal fantasy. When the clock strikes dinner, think Stouffer's. You can see all the delicious options at stouffers.com. Let's talk about anxiety. I know that you have lightly talked about it in times, and I just want to talk to you about like how anxiety affects your life. What has it done in terms of playing a part in your personal life and your career? Like, just talk to me about what you're comfortable with.

• 57:22Speaker 01

  Uh, yeah. So I think we kind of touched on it a bit earlier, like when we're talking about, you know, like the, the, the, the nature of our job, you know, like what we were doing in the band and the situation, being on stage in front of thousands of people. I think it's a really normal place to experience anxiety, you know, like you're going to go and perform in front of You know, a lot of different people that you don't know who they are. Um, and it's not a natural thing to do, you know, in in terms of. Um, everyday life, you don't just talk to thousands of people, you know, um. So it was something that I had to, you know, learn to uh adjust um.

• 58:03Speaker 01

  Anxiety for me, I've learnt is is a feeling that now has a word, you know. Um, and I feel like for. Generations, human beings have felt it and not really even been able to put, you know, their finger on what it is. Um, but we overcome it, you know, um, and certain things. In in life can change your perspective on the things. And I think for me, like, since I've had my daughter and since she was born, like. The main thing in in my mind is like trying to be a good example to her, like in terms of. You know, I can do things and I can achieve things and I can overcome things and you can do this too. Um, and to let things like, you know, a feeling stop you from doing that.

• 58:47Speaker 01

  After having a child feels like a really small thing, like I feel like I've like. Had to step up, you know, as as as a man or just, you know, as a person. Um, and be this example to her that doesn't uh succumb to these feelings. That's why I'm even doing. This interview, you know, like I I used to get a lot of anxiety around like having a conversation like this, just. In this kind of environment and I want her to be able to look at me and be like, yo, my dad's doing this, you know, he's. He's the man, he's cool, yeah.

• 59:18Alex Cooper?

  He is cool.

• 59:19Speaker 01

  He's a cool guy, yeah, so um, that's helped me a lot, for sure.

• 59:24Alex Cooper?

  That is so fucking cool to. Obviously, my mom's a psychologist, so I grew up and. I think mental health was not a conversation for most families and hopefully it will be, but like. I've watched so my mom talk to so many people and talk them through how to get over a panic attack, how to get over anxiety, how to not get over it, but like manage it, live with it, be okay to go about your everyday life. I think sometimes if you don't have anxiety, people look at people with anxiety, like just get the fuck over it. And I think it shows up in everyone's lives in such different ways.

• 59:59Speaker 01

  And I don't think that's the way you can look at it, you know, I think everybody's situation is is individual. I think it takes an individual experience then to happen for somebody to overcome that too, you know?

• 1:00:10Alex Cooper?

  Totally. If you think about the first time you can recall in your life experiencing anxiety, did you experience anxiety prior to fame?

• 1:00:18Speaker 01

  For sure, yeah.

• 1:00:20Alex Cooper?

  Take me to like a moment in your life where you remember being like, wow, I didn't know that was anxiety, but now I do.

• 1:00:24Speaker 01

  I enjoyed it. That was the thing, yeah, like I enjoyed being in that feeling. And they got to a certain point, I think, where it just became too much, like it just was was weighing on me, that feeling of um like anticipation and then getting the adrenaline and then the the after feeling of that, you know? Um as a young kid, I loved it, like I loved being on stage and I loved performing, it was like a free space for me to go and be a character, because it was, you know, I was playing a a role in some little school performance, it was nothing serious. Um when it became a thing that had a lot of weight behind it in terms of, you know, people watching and stuff, then you're gonna have um you're gonna have natural feelings of anxiety.

• 1:01:09Alex Cooper?

  Yeah, people staring at you, judging you, writing about you, following you, taking pictures of you, that's a lot. Can you share with us, like, in the heyday of paparazzi and insanity, like what would be something that would really trigger your anxiety in those days?

• 1:01:29Speaker 01

  Um, just the idea of like, um, like not being able to just do normal things, like to just go outside and like walk out onto the street, you know, like, cause where we lived, it was kind of a bit crazy. And there's just people always there like waiting to take a photo and stuff. And obviously thinking about having a child and like raising her in that environment is just very claustrophobic for me. I didn't want her to have to be like exposed to that, cause she didn't choose it, you know, like it was a choice that I made. So I was like, we need to get out of here so that she can have some chance of like a, a normal childhood, you know, where there's not cameras flashing in affairs constantly.

• 1:02:07Alex Cooper?

  Let's talk about you being a father, because

• 1:02:12Alex Cooper?

  it's really cool to see you talk about anxiety, which again, I have so much respect for even you being able to talk about it, because I know it's like you're not that public about your life and that's something that you live with every day. And to say like, having a child has helped you overcome something that is like in your day to day, that's like pretty debilitating in moments. Um. Yeah, but you being famous and having a child, like deciding to move here, I can imagine you're trying to shield her from this life that you also are still trying to figure out, like, is it a lot?

• 1:02:49Speaker 01

  Um, I feel like, um, there's, there's a, there's a healthy way to do it, you know? Um, I'm not necessarily trying to shield her from it, cause she's, she's gonna know, you know, if she's gonna get to a certain point, she's gonna have a certain level of awareness, she doesn't know what's going on. Um, I'm just trying to give her an option. You know, so it's like a choice for her, like if she, she wants to be away from it, she can be out here, like, cause I am a famous person and I get sanctuary here, you know what I'm saying? So I feel like she, um, is gonna have a lot of options and whatever she wants to do in her life, obviously I'll support her for sure, yeah.

• 1:03:32Alex Cooper?

  Okay, how has becoming a dad shifted your priorities in life?

• 1:03:38Speaker 01

  Um, the, the crazy thing is obviously I have a fifty percent of the time. So, um, that time I have with her is so important because I feel like she's growing up so fast, like, um, so when I'm with her, I don't work like at all, I just. Spend a full day with her doing the things that she wants to do, like painting, Play-Doh, this, that, go to the park, go to the theme park, go to the zoo, like, we just have fun, like, and I feel like I've like re been uh rekindled my own childhood like through her, you know what I'm saying, like, I feel like we get to a certain point in in adult life where everything's kind of vague and grey and boring.

• 1:04:19Alex Cooper?

  Yeah.

• 1:04:20Speaker 01

  And she's brought that colour back for me, for sure, yeah.

• 1:04:23Alex Cooper?

  See. Um, what is a dad quality that you've proudly taken on that makes you laugh a little when you think about it of like, oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm doing this?

• 1:04:33Speaker 01

  I keep being told I'm telling dad jokes and I'm leaning into it. I'm just like, it's okay, it's cool. Like, I'm using like Christmas cracker jokes and stuff and it's really funny, like, people just look at me like I'm a weirdo and I'm like, yeah, I'm a dad and I'm allowed to tell these jokes, you have to give me a pass.

• 1:04:50Alex Cooper?

  Wow, Dane, I didn't expect that, I'm not gonna lie.

• 1:04:53Speaker 01

  Love a dad joke.

• 1:04:54Alex Cooper?

  You're like full dad vibe.

• 1:04:55Speaker 01

  That's it, yeah.

• 1:04:58Alex Cooper?

  I love how you're like, I'm fully leaning in, there is no stopping me.

• 1:05:02Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 1:05:02Alex Cooper?

  Okay, well, you haven't cracked one here, so if you want to, you can always give us your best, but, you know, when it feels.

• 1:05:07Speaker 01

  We'll say, we'll say, we'll say that for another time.

• 1:05:10Alex Cooper?

  What is your favourite thing to do with your daughter?

• 1:05:13Speaker 01

  My favourite thing to do with her is um she shows a lot of signs of like um musical uh intelligence already, so I just love like playing instruments with her and singing with her. Um, like I'll sing and she sings along and she can do like good harmonies and stuff already and she's only two and a half, like, and she harmonizes with me well, like finishes notes and she can hold them for a long time. I'm like, you might have a bit of ability, you.

• 1:05:41Alex Cooper?

  Um, I'm picturing the two of you playing with Play-Doh and you start singing and then your daughter starts singing.

• 1:05:48Speaker 01

  She can hit these high notes, like full, full set, like, yeah, it's crazy. I'm like, yo.

• 1:05:53Alex Cooper?

  Like, whoa, you're good.

• 1:05:55Speaker 01

  I couldn't do this, I didn't speak till I was three.

• 1:05:59Alex Cooper?

  Fuck do you sing? Wow.

• 1:06:02Speaker 01

  And she remembers like full lyrics to songs as well, like every word, it's mad.

• 1:06:06Alex Cooper?

  Wow, we got a superstar on our hands. Okay, okay. It's interesting to hear you say like you're singing to her, which like. Uh, would have loved if my dad could have sang, he can't. Um, what are you singing to her? And like, what are her favorite songs that you sing?

• 1:06:20Speaker 01

  She loves Disney movies, so we sing a lot of Disney songs together and sing like You've Got a Friend in Me and stuff. She sings really cute.

• 1:06:30Alex Cooper?

  Honestly, that's really cute thinking about you guys singing that. Um, what qualities of yourself aside from like having that musical aspect? More like personality, like what qualities do you see from yourself and your daughter?

• 1:06:42Speaker 01

  I think she's, she's, she's funny, like she's, she's a bit of a cheeky one. Yeah, she likes to have a bit of a joke and stuff and like laugh a lot. Um, she's, she's chilled though, but she loves reading as well. Um, which is something I think she definitely took from me, like she just has a affinity for words, like she remembers everything.

• 1:07:03Alex Cooper?

  Has becoming a parent changed your relationship with your parents?

• 1:07:08Speaker 01

  Definitely, yeah, in, in a. In a like respect way, you know, like you, you just have so much respect for the things that they've put aside for you, you know, like. When you realize all the sacrifices that you make as a parent, like just to be there and be present with your child, like. You can't have nothing but respect for that for sure.

• 1:07:28Alex Cooper?

  I know you said like, obviously you have her fifty percent of the time, you wanna make the most of these moments, like. What's something that you guys have done together recently that made you so happy and you had like such a great time?

• 1:07:39Speaker 01

  We went to Nickelodeon in, in New Jersey.

• 1:07:42Alex Cooper?

  Oh my god, it's so fun.

• 1:07:44Speaker 01

  Go down, enjoy it. I know, it's like super childish, but like I, I had a lot of fun. Yeah, I think I had more fun than her. It was good.

• 1:07:50Alex Cooper?

  That is so good. How is co-parenting going?

• 1:07:54Speaker 01

  Co-parenting is, is good, yeah. Um, we have a really good relationship for Kai. She's the. The, you know, the main importance.

• 1:08:03Alex Cooper?

  Yeah.

• 1:08:04Speaker 01

  Um, so yeah, it's going well.

• 1:08:06Alex Cooper?

  Yeah, yeah, okay.

• 1:08:08Speaker 01

  I think.

• 1:08:10Alex Cooper?

  Seems like uh from me.

• 1:08:12Speaker 01

  From me, yeah.

• 1:08:13Alex Cooper?

  Okay, so I want to ask you, if I can ask one question, just about, like as delicately as I can go about it, I feel like I wouldn't be doing my my job if I didn't ask about the 2021 incident.

• 1:08:29Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 1:08:29Alex Cooper?

  I know you can't really speak on it. I think obviously, as a man, you like, there was a lot out there said about you and you basically took the high road and didn't say anything. And you kind of put out that like blanket statement of just like, I want to respect my daughter and not say anything.

• 1:08:46Speaker 01

  Exactly, yeah.

• 1:08:47Alex Cooper?

  And I can imagine how difficult it is, kind of like almost a culmination of everything we're talking about today of like, how do you balance when something is out there about you, about your character? That people are reading and speculating and saying things about you? And how do you decide when you when to speak up and when to like be silent and like chill on it and not really go there?

• 1:09:13Speaker 01

  Yeah, so for me, like we were talking about earlier, I don't tend to get involved when people um say things online, whether it's got something to do with me or whether it doesn't. Um, because for me, my most valuable thing that I have in life is time. And that takes so much time in in in a toxic environment to like, explain yourself to people and justify this. And so I just kind of keep to myself. I knew what the situation was. I knew what happened. Um, and the people involved knew what happened too. Um, and that's all I really cared about.

• 1:09:53Speaker 01

  Um, if anybody, um, you know, of of a same mind would look at the situation, I believe that you could respect that. Like, I just didn't wanna bring attention to anything, you know, I just wasn't trying to get into a negative back and forth with her. Any sort of narrative online where my daughter was gonna look back and read that and be able to read into it and it would just be something that was. There was no point. Um, I, I believe I dealt with it in, in the best way, like, um, in an amicable, respectful way. And that's all that needs to be said, you know. Um, yeah, I just, I feel like it's a lot of negativity, you know.

• 1:10:31Alex Cooper?

  I can only imagine, like, first of all, no fucking family is perfect. And so to be on the stage that you guys are on, I.

• 1:10:39Speaker 01

  And like you said, your family issues, you know, like if something happens in the family, like, I'd rather keep that between the family, you know. We don't need a whole audience of people and opinions, cause it's hard enough to manage between two.

• 1:10:51Alex Cooper?

  I more so just also wanted to give you the chance because I think you obviously handled it so amicably. I also think in doing my job, like. This is a podcast where I'm trying to support women, right? And like, reading headlines, like, I wanted to hear from you, obviously, because. Hearing you even today, I don't know if, like, I'm just gonna say what it is, like, you have said you have fifty percent custody and so anything that has, we've all read online, like. Well, if that was true, then that would have affected that. So I think it's important to just say, like, me doing my job, I just wanted to clarify, like. It's not like, unless you can correct me, like, you don't have to have people with you while you're with your daughter and like.

• 1:11:30Speaker 01

  No, no, nothing, no, yeah.

• 1:11:32Alex Cooper?

  You have custody of your child. So I think it's just important to say, cause people are reading this shit being like, oh my.

• 1:11:37Speaker 01

  Yeah, no, for sure, yeah, and I'm super full on, yeah, like, hands on with my child, e- every chance I can be. If I could get sixty percent, I would have it, yeah.

• 1:11:46Alex Cooper?

  Okay, let's talk about your music. You're coming back, we're getting a song. Tell me what inspired the song. What can we expect? Give it to us.

• 1:11:56Speaker 01

  Yeah, so I'm working, uh, well, I've been working on, um, my record for a minute, um. And, uh, I have a single for the summer coming out called Love Like This, that's like a standalone song, um, just a summer jam, it's a good vibe, like. Yeah, it just feels like summer.

• 1:12:15Alex Cooper?

  That's what I think we need.

• 1:12:17Speaker 01

  We do need a good summer tune.

• 1:12:18Alex Cooper?

  We just need a bop. Like, someone asked me recently, like, oh, like, what's the song of summer? And I actually said, you know what, like, I'm interviewing someone and I know they have a single coming out. And I have a feeling that could be the song of summer. Are you nervous to go on stage, like, alone?

• 1:12:33Speaker 01

  Um, I was, yeah, like, when I first started, like, performing by myself, I was, I was nervous. And I'm still nervous now because it's been a few years that I've been on stage. But I have this, like, energy too, like, I, I feel like I have something to give and I want to get on stage and, and be there again and feel that. That's one thing I can say, you know, like, my, my fan base has always been supportive in that manner. They're always just like, we're here, we've got you. Like, when you're ready, we've got you, you know, like, come. We're gonna, we're gonna come and listen to your tunes. So, yeah, no, I gotta be, um, su- super thankful for that. And I'm super grateful, um, and I feel that love for sure. So I'm ready to, to prove these people right, you know?

• 1:13:15Alex Cooper?

  Can we expect any music inspired by your daughter on your records?

• 1:13:19Speaker 01

  Uh, yeah, definitely. Yeah, I'm, um, I'm doing a, I thi- I'm doing a record that I don't think people are really gonna ex- expect. Like, um, it's a different sound for me and it's got some, like, more narrative going on, like, real life experiences and stuff. So, yeah, my daughter's mentioned in there a couple of times.

• 1:13:40Alex Cooper?

  Wow. I think that's gonna be so fucking dope to actually hear from you in long form, essentially, because an album is in long form. Like, we're gonna get to know you more, which is exciting, again, because Mr. Mysterious over there, we're still trying to understand things. Um, okay, what is something that you want your fans to take away from this interview?

• 1:14:02Speaker 01

  I'd like my fans to feel like they got to know me a bit, because you keep saying I'm Mr. Mysterious.

• 1:14:08Alex Cooper?

  You've been open, I do appreciate it.

• 1:14:09Speaker 01

  Yeah, no, so I'm, I'm hoping they got to know me a little bit and they, they feel like they've seen me and caught with me a bit. And, you know, they're gonna see me a lot more, like, and I want them to know that, like, Across the board, like I've kind of had a full like mental rehaul and in the best way, thanks to my, my child and you know, being able to see things in a different light. And I'm going to be a lot more present and hopefully people are going to see me a lot more.

• 1:14:36Alex Cooper?

  I love it.

• 1:14:37Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:14:37Alex Cooper?

  Zane, thank you so much for coming on Call Her Daddy. This was truly a pleasure.

• 1:14:42Speaker 01

  Thank you for having me.

• 1:14:58Alex Cooper?

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• 1:15:38Alex Cooper?

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• 1:16:23Alex Cooper?

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• 1:17:03Alex Cooper?

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