Happy Birthday, Zayn Malik: How the 23-Year-Old's Life Has Changed Dramatically in the Past Year

Compare Zayn Malik's life today and his life one year ago. Dramatically different, right 

And we're not just talking about his platinum tips.

The Twitter faithful may have stayed the same, despite its varying factions—the Zayniacs who seceded from the One Direction union along with their leader; the 1D purists who will love anyone who was in the group forever, no matter where they should roam to; and the hopefuls, the ones who want Zayn back in the band more than anything.  

Literally anything

But for the most part, over the past 12 months the young man's life has really experienced a seismic shift not felt since the year One Direction formed. On the occasion of Zayn's 23rd birthday, let's take a look at all the ways in which his life is completely different than it was a year ago

First, the obvious: July 22, 2015, was the fifth anniversary of impresario Simon Cowell striking gold by grouping Zayn, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson together on The X Factor in the U.K. But four months ahead of the momentous date, Zayn left the group. His stress level through the roof, his creativity stifled and his desire to keep up the rigorous pace required of One Direction gone, he announced his departure on March 25, 2015, apologizing to the brokenhearted fans and offering his full moral support to the rest of 1D, his "friends for life

But while their exchanges since the split have been cordial and Zayn maintains to this day that there's no bad blood, per se, apparently no one is meeting for pints these days

"I had every intention of remaining friends with everybody, but I guess certain phone numbers have changed and I haven't received calls from a lot of people," Zayn told Billboard recently. "I've reached out to a few of them and not got a reply. Certain people have pride issues, but it's stuff you overcome in time

So, unlike the case on his 22nd birthday, Zayn is spending his 23rd as a solo artist, no longer a member of the most in-demand quintet in the world but free to explore his own musical interests. So far, we're still not entirely sure what those are, but his Twitter moniker "EDM Zayn Malik" seems to be a clue that he wants more bass in his life