One Direction's "Drag Me Down" was recently released and in less than an hour, the single was able to nab the top spot on iTunes. Zayn Malik is aware of his former bandmates' success which prompted him to share a heartfelt Twitter post.

"Proud of my boys the new single is sick. Big love. :) x.(sic)" he wrote on Twitter.

One Direction's "Drag Me Down" was released without any promotion from the camp.

It was Liam Payne who first revealed the news on Twitter: "Bit of a surprise! Check out our new single! It's called Drag Me Down & I hope you love it as much as we do."

The 1D boys are not the only ones who feel delighted because Zayn Malik recently signed a solo record deal with RCA Records. The 22-year-old uploaded an Instagram photo of him signing the deal.

He captioned it: "I guess I never explained why I left , it was for this moment to be given the opportunity to show you who i really am! #realmusic #RCA!!"

Despite the Bradford-born crooner's career move, there is reportedly no bad blood between him and his former bandmates. Even Simon Cowell, the man who discovered them, reportedly gave his blessing to Perrie Edwards' fiancée.

"It's a big move for Simon because Zayn could have a very successful solo career but his priority absolutely remains the band and this is a big statement on his part," said the source to The Sun.

"Simon has set up a deal that suits Zayn and One Direction. Zayn will stay in the Sony family under a different label and it's totally with Simon Cowell's blessing."

The insider went on to say that after leaving the band, the "I Won't Mind" singer already changed management and lawyers.

While One Direction's new album will reportedly be released this November, there is no update yet if Zayn Malik will also drop a new single this year.