Zayn Malik recently went public about his battle with anxiety, receiving praise from English singer-songwriter Craig David and others.
The 23-year-old singer walked out of a performance at London’s Capital FM’s Summertime this weekend following an anxiety attack. As the artist publicly acknowledged the issue, Craig David says that this was a brave step in the right direction.
While at the Grazia Live event, David stated: “I think it was a huge, bold move for him to be able to express himself in that way, because that’s a very personal thing and it’s a real thing for people to go through. So for him to actually say that openly to everybody, I’ve got huge respect for him. Especially coming from a huge band. You are a solo artist now and going it alone, it’s a huge thing to take on your shoulders so I’ve got huge respect for him. I hope he overcomes it and finds a way that he can go out and do his performances without it keeping on haunting him.”
David also believes that fans will appreciate Malik even more now as a result.
“People can see that you are a human being and I think once you get back down to taking away all the smoke and mirrors, it’s a human being who is in front of everybody, trying to show what he is capable of. You’re thinking ‘I woke up this morning. I’m alive. I’m glad that I can make music. I’m just going to deliver it.’ There is always going to be opinions of anything that you do and hopefully there’s more positives in your life than there are negatives and you shun off the negative because you haven’t got time for it and you keep on walking forward.”
In addition, Malik’s girlfriend Gigi Hadid also praised the artist via Twitter.
“Z – I’ve seen the battles you go through and the way you fight to get to a place that allows you to get up there for your fans…”
Malik’s appearance would have featured a variety of his newest music, including some from his latest studio album, Made in the A.M.