In the middle of Zayn Malik's newly released album, Mind of Mine, the singer shifts gears on "INTERMISSION: fLoWer" and honors his heritage by singing in Urdu. In his father's native tongue, he sings, Jab tak is mohabbat ke phool na khilay / Tab tak is dill ko sukoon na miley, which The New York Times roughly translated into, Until the flower of this love has blossomed / This heart won’t be at peace.
Choosing not to sing in English on the song is more than just a display of Zayn's linguistic versatility. For an entrancing 1 minute and 44 seconds, his vocals serve as an important form of representation in mainstream music that has many of his listeners feeling empowered.
I NEVER REALIZED ALL I NEEDED IN LIFE IS ZAYN SINGING IN URDU I AM WEAK
— farwz (@farwzaz) March 25, 2016
I'm so happy that zayn sang fLoWeR in urdu, he's embracing his culture. beautiful.
— • sana • (@imperialzjm) March 25, 2016
brown girls everywhere when they hear zayn sing in Urdu pic.twitter.com/ijbpUClimh
— spøøky darsh (@darshini221b) March 25, 2016
zayn singing in urdu makes me DEADASS drop to the floor and die u don't understand how long ive been waiting for this i am alive
— noor LOVES zayn (@lovingmyzjm) March 20, 2016
i still can't believe that zayn really released a song in urdu pic.twitter.com/M1mzMoM3sc
— A (@ohaliza) March 25, 2016
Y'ALL HAVE NO IDEA HOW BIG AND IMPORTANT IT IS THAT ZAYN IS SINGING IN URDU
— soniya ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ (@SoniyaaaTweets) March 20, 2016
MY BOY IS EMBRACING HIS CULTURE & LANGUAGE OMFGGGG
ZAYN SINGING IN URDU pic.twitter.com/rzuSGpQFmC
— a (@jauregziam) March 25, 2016
Zayn singing in Urdu is too big of a moment for me to put into words pic.twitter.com/1JX94FqJNq
— Tabir Akhter (@tabir) March 25, 2016
That bit in #MindOfMine where Zayn started singing in Urdu. pic.twitter.com/ts8GR6SlMD
— Nabeela #JB17 (@JustNabz) March 25, 2016
Can we take a time to recognise that Zayn sings in Urdu for 1 minute and 44 seconds on his album
— Samra Malik (@soom_zz) March 25, 2016
