One Direction performs at CityWalk without Zayn Malik, Zayn Malik of the London-based pop group One Direction isn't performing alongside his bandmates at their live CityWalk concert today because he is under the weather, the band told NBC's "Today."
Liam Payne told NBC’s Matt Lauer that Malik was just suffering from a cold and couldn’t make the trip. “He’s just at home. He needs to rest,” Payne said.
Earlier, officials had said that Malik missed his flight to Orlando.The One Direction guys arrived by boat taking several laps around the lagoon to wave to the thousands of fans at Universal CityWalk.
The wildly popular British-Irish group was to perform three sets for Monday’s “Today” for 15,000 fans that crowded Universal CityWalk. Other band members in Orlando are Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan.
The band’s “Today” appearance marked the release of One Direction’s new album, “Four,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts.
Harry Styles said to the fans off the air: "I just want to say a massive thanks. We have a new. Album out today. It's our fourth one and without you guys, we wouldn't have been able to do one."
Between segments, the band took selfies in front of the crowd, expressed interest in riding roller coasters and talked about the sunshine and how hot it was.
Universal opened its parking lot at 3 a.m. and it filled to capacity in 30 minutes, according to a spokesman. Fans traveled as far from Canada and Netherlands for Monday’s performance.
But just before showtime, anchor Lauer posted on Twitter that the popular band member didn't make it to Orlando.
"Where's Zayn? One Direction arrives in Orlando without him. Plenty of questions, but the show goes on Today #1Dtoday," Lauer wrote.
Lauer said earlier that Malik didn't join the band on a flight from London and noted that #GetWellZayn was trending.
The group and NBCUniversal announced last week "an unprecedented and expansive cross-platform partnership for the global launch" of "Four."
