Simon Cowell Talks Zayn Malik, Harry Styles' Solo Career, & Why One Direction Was a 'Nightmare'

Simon Cowell opens up all about One Direction for the new Billboard magazine cover story.

The 56-year-old music executive talked about Zayn Malik and Harry Styles‘ solo careers, and more. Check it:

On whether or not One Direction is broken up for good: “I don’t know if it’s a hiatus or a breakup, to be honest. In a weird way, I don’t want to know.”

On Zayn: “Zayn is still signed to our company. But the boys hadn’t bought into the fact that he was leaving, so out of respect for them, it wasn’t the right thing to put him on Syco…”

On Harry recording a solo album: “He’ll work out what kind of record he wants to make because he’s got great taste — which is always a help. All the writers and producers want to work with him, understandably, but he probably won’t rush into it.”

Simon also joked to the mag that 1D was “a nightmare” to work with right after X Factor. “They were like five puppies — really excited, loads of opinions, always wanted to hang out.”

For more on Simon, visit Billboard.com.