ZAYN Malik was taking a step in a new direction last night, as he made his first solo appearance since quitting One Direction at the Annual Asian Awards in London.

The 22-year-old singer - who announced last month he was leaving the boyband to live a "normal life" - was due to walk the red carpet at a ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane.

DJ Naughty Boy - real name Shahid Khan - is also attending the event and he and Zayn were rumoured to be making an announcement about Zayn's first solo music venture.

Shortly after Zayn, who grew up in east Bowling, quit One Direction, Naughty Boy posted a demo of song I Won't Mind, featuring Zayn's vocals, online, only to delete it 12 hours later.

Other guests expected at the fifth Annual Asian Awards, which celebrate excellence across the global Pan-Asian community, included X Factor judge Louis Walsh, Denise Van Outen, Gok Wan, fashion designer John Rocha and Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan.