AceShowbiz - Zayn Malik is joining forces with country music producer Dave Cobb on his upcoming album. The former One Direction star could be set to jump on the country bandwagon like Beyonce Knowles after the studio wizard behind his follow-up to 2021's "Nobody Is Listening" spilled on working with the star.

"What got me about Zayn was his voice, you can hear love, loss, pain, triumph and humanity in it. I feel as if this record is removing the glass from his spirit directly to his fans. Zayn has really created his own universe on this record, he really has no fear and is speaking straight from his soul," the producer told Rolling Stone.

Dave is based in Nashville, Tennessee, and is best known for producing the work of Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, John Prine, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, to name a few.

The 31-year-old singer previously insisted his new material will sound different to his previous releases. Speaking on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, he explained, "I've got a few really sad ones [songs], yeah. It's a different sound for me, and it's got like some more narrative going on like real-life experiences and stuff."

Zayn released the lead single, "Love Like This", last year. He said of the uplifting tune, "It's just a summer jam. It's a good vibe. It just feels like summer."

Meanwhile, the "Dusk Till Dawn" singer was the executive music producer for the recently released animated film, "10 Lives", in which he also voiced "tough-guy twins" Cameron and Kirk and duetted with "Bridgerton" star Simone Ashley (Rose), 28.