One Direction's 4 Remaining Members Give First Interview After Zayn Malik's Exit, Excited About New Album

He left the group on March 25 after taking a hiatus and departing their On the Road Again tour, which they have since continued without him

The show must go on for the remaining four One Direction lads, who recently spoken to the press for the first time about losing Zayn Malik as a member last week.

In an interview with the U.K. newspaper The Sun, published on Friday, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne talk about performing as a foursome and the fate of the boy band, one of the most popular in the world.

"It's been a tough few weeks, probably the toughest since the band was formed five years ago," Payne was quoted as saying. "We're gutted that Zayn chose to leave, but now after a few performances as a four piece, we're feeling confident and are determined to carry on stronger than ever."

"It's very exciting to be working on our fifth album," Styles told The Sun. "it shows how incredible the fans have been. A huge thank you to them for everything they've done for us. All the love to them."

Days after Malik's departure last week, Tomlinson had told fans on Twitter that One Direction is "going to work harder than ever to deliver the best album we've ever made for you guys!"

U.K. radio station Capital FM reported in February that One Direction was working on the new record, the follow-up to their 2014 album FOUR, with regular collaborators Wayne Hector and Julian Bunetta and were also spotted in a recording studio with rapper Juicy J.

In late January,, former Daughtry drummer Robin Diaz tweeted a pic of Tomlinson and Payne in a studio in West Hollywood, California with Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger, saying, "Amazing songwriter Chad Kroeger creating hits with @Louis_Tomlinson & @Real_Liam_Payne killer singers/WOW."

Amazing songwriter Chad Kroeger creating hits with @Louis_Tomlinson & @Real_Liam_Payne killer singers/WOW?? pic.twitter.com/ogDjXykrhw

? Robin Diaz (@therobindiaz) January 30, 2015

Meanwhile, the group has continued their On the Road Again tour without Malik, whose final performance was on March 18, in Hong Kong. A day later, a 1D rep said he would take a hiatus, citing stress. The move followed cheating rumors, which the pop star, who is engaged to Perrie Edwards, denied. On March 25, the band announced Malik was leaving the group.

One Direction recently performed in South Africa and will take the stage in Dubai on Saturday.

"We're looking forward to seeing all our fans on the tour this year," Horan told The Sun. "The fans are amazing. They are so loyal. All we want to do is make them proud and return their faith in us with a brilliant tour and an amazing new album."

"All four of us are 100 per cent committed to staying in One Direction and we want to thank the fans for being so incredible during this time. We have so much more we still want to achieve," Tomlinson said. "Our gigs in South Africa were some of the biggest the country has ever seen, so it's exciting for us to keep breaking records for British music worldwide."

Malik had spoken to The Sun himself last week, explaining why he left One Direction. He also denied a rift with the remaining band members.