This is how you know Zayn Malik is really, truly, for sure out of One Direction: The 22-year-old singer has officially been edited out of the introductory videos that play at the band’s concerts, as fans discovered at shows this past weekend in South Africa. But what does the future hold for the remaining members, who got their start on a reality competition? Possibly more reality TV, as sources tell Radar Online that “Simon Cowell is really pushing to do a ‘search for the fifth member’ sort of reality show singing competition. One Direction was founded on the same concept on ‘The X Factor,’ so Simon and the management team think that it is kind of a spectacular idea and they know that the ratings would be enormous.” RELATED: Zayn Malik speaks out about leaving One Direction Plus, those initial plans to continue on as a foursome apparently fly in the face of conventional wisdom: “All great boy bands throughout the modern music era — such as The Jackson Five, ‘N Sync, New Kids On The Block, Backstreet Boys, The Wanted— all did so well because there were five members,” the source explains. “Quartets never stay afloat in the boy band world.” I think BoyzII Men would beg to differ, but whatever. Follow Ned Ehrbar on Twitter: @nedrick
One Direction moving on from Zayn Malik rather quickly
