I hope you woke up this morning hoping that a former member of One Direction was going to complicate your day, because that's exactly what's happened — Zayn Malik released the "It's You" music video. You might wonder why that's complicated at all, since "Pillowtalk" did so well that you'd expect me to be pumped about the followup. And in many ways I am. But you know what turns me off from a music video before I've ever even seen it? Having to pay for it. That's the kind of move you can get away with if you're Beyoncé and you're releasing an entire secret album of videos and revolutionizing the field, and you've earned that kind of cred. But if you're Zayn Malik, just two videos deep into your solo career, you gotta know I'm gonna be a little annoyed at you for throwing your weight around like that.
Because, as of right now, the only way to watch "It's You" (which he inexplicably stylizes as "iT's YoU", like he's writing your AIM away message), is to purchase it on Apple Music or iTunes. It isn't on VEVO, it isn't on Vimeo, it isn't on YouTube, and Zayn doesn't love you anymore. Or maybe he does, but he's really testing out your love for him, asking you to pay $1.99 just to check and see if you like his video, with only a 10-second clip he released to Twitter to guide you.
Oh Zayn, Zayn, Zayn. The annoying thing is that I'll probably end up shelling out for it, because I do like what I see so far. But is there seriously no way to watch the "It's You" video without paying for it? Well actually, there kind of is. Zayn premiered "It's You" on The Tonight Show back on Feb. 18, so you can watch the video of him performing it for Jimmy Fallon and the studio audience to your heart's desire without ever spending a dime.
It may not have any of the cinematography of the official video, but it can at least give you an idea of whether you want to go all in on your love for Zayn, or keep playing hard to get until his album Mind of Mine comes out on Mar. 25.
