Emotions are running high for One Direction fans after Liam Payne shared his reaction to Zayn Malik‘s new song on Friday. The newly engaged singer, 27, took to Instagram Live to listen to the Zayn’s latest track, “Better” — and had high praise for his former bandmate. In the first few seconds of listening to the intro, Liam let out a positive, “Ooh!”
Liam went on to listen to the full track as he bobbed his head back and forth. “That sounds good! I like that! That sounds good,” Liam said before an incoming call on his phone interrupted the song. Once the track began playing again, Zayn, 27, hit a high note, to which Liam instantly noticed and said, “Nice!”
Liam continued to let out more “ooh” sounds throughout the listening session and later added, “Oh yeah, I really like this. It’s good!” Directly addressing the new father, he said, “Zayn, nice one! That was fun!” Fans quickly filled the comments of Liam’s Instagram Live with hearts and emotional messages about One Direction. Many noted how sweet it is that each member — Liam, Zayn, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson — still supports one another’s solo ventures.
Zayn released “Better,” along with the accompanying music video, on September 25 — two days after the singer and girlfriend Gigi Hadid confirmed that their baby girl arrived into the world. The supermodel, 25, gave birth to the couple’s first child after keeping most of her pregnancy private. It’s unclear what name Gigi and Zayn chose for their bundle of joy.
“Our baby girl is here, healthy & beautiful to try put into words how i am feeling right now would be an impossible task,” Zayn wrote in a tweet alongside a black and white photo of him holding his baby girl’s hand. “The love i feel for this tiny human is beyond my understanding,” he continued, adding, “Grateful to know her, proud to call her mine, & thankful for the life we will have together.”
Following the good news, Louis — who’s also a dad to a son named Freddie, 4 — shared his support for Zayn, despite their tumultuous relationship. Fans are still waiting for more public celebrations from the rest of the 1D members.