Nathan Sykes Opens Up About His New Solo Career and Zayn Malik's One Direction Exit

The Wanted's Nathan Sykes is officially striking out on his own and launching a solo career, which he's already teasing with a glimpse at his new single "Kiss Me Quick," which he recently posted to Instagram.

Speaking with ET, the 22-year-old English singer opened up about his new track, and his burgeoning solo venture.

"Basically the idea of the single is that I'm really bad at flirting. Like, straight up so bad at flirting," Sykes said, laughing. "So it's a bit cheeky, it's a bit flirty, it's quite playful. It's basically just asking someone for a kiss."

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Sykes also explained that his new music is very different from any of the music he was making previously in his career.

"I think it's a bigger departure from the music I was doing before than I expected, if I'm being completely honest," Sykes admitted. "But as I was writing the music I was like, 'Oooh! This is, like, really cool. I like this.' And then I started challenging myself more vocally when I was in the studio."

As for his relationship with his old band The Wanted -- which officially went on hiatus in January 2014 -- Sykes says there's no bad blood between them. In fact, the young star says that a reunion isn't totally out of the question.

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"You never know what's gonna happen tomorrow, let alone in like five, 10 years, whatever. So, obviously, like, never say never," Sykes said. "I'm sure it'll happen at some point. But at the moment I'm so focused on this album."

Sykes' new career path has obviously come as less of a shock than Zayn Malik's abrupt departure from One Direction in pursuit of a solo venture in March.

But with a rumored past feud between The Wanted and One Direction, Sykes opened up about his reaction to Zayn quitting, saying that fans should actually be excited.

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"They know what they're doing," Sykes said. "I think it's exciting! You get two albums from One Direction a year now, which is great. You an album from the four boys and you get an album from Zayn. It's cool!"

Check out the video for more from Sykes on his new music, including a song he wrote following his break-up with Ariana Grande that many fans believe is directed toward the "Break Free" singer.

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Sykes previously released the track "More Than You'll Ever Know" in March and embarked on a short U.K. solo tour in mid-April, promoting his forthcoming as-of-yet untitled debut solo album.

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