Last Friday night, ex-boy bander Zayn Malik released his first song as a solo artist.
The song is called Pillowtalk and it marks the first time Malik has been able to openly (and dirtily) sing about sex.
Response to the single has been mixed.
Of course, hardcore One Direction fans are still having a hard time adjusting to the fact the boy band lost one of its most sought-after members and subsequently ended up taking an indefinite hiatus.
People who weren't previously interested in Malik, on the other hand, seem to be really enjoying the song, even if they are still rude about One Direction.
My own response to the release was at first a weird sort of motherly pride, and low-level concern that Zayn doesn't seem to know how to emote when he isn't backed by four other men.
Upon further consideration, I think he will get better at singing by himself and I'm also starting to appreciate the significance of Zayn's moment more thoroughly.
The music video, which was released at the same time, features Malik's supermodel girlfriend Gigi Hadid, who alternates between kissing him and bleeding from her eyes.
It's a far cry from One Direction's bubblegum good time videos, and conceptually it is just a little bit bizarre.
Artistically, the video is a mess.
It features weird mirror effects, trippy colours and a lot of inconsistent imagery.
On the whole it feels a little bit like a high school photography project, even though it was directed by a proper grown-up director (Bouha Kazmi) and almost definitely cost an awful lot of money.
But, even if it doesn't quite work, it is one of the reasons Malik's solo career is so important.
The video is largely centred around women's bodies, but aside from his interactions with Hadid, Malik is not a looming, voyeuristic presence in the video, in fact, he's hardly there at all, only appearing a couple of times to look a bit sad and awkward.
Incredibly, a lot of the imagery is openly vaginal, with flowers blossoming from between women's legs, and the screen splitting up into bud-like shapes. Hadid is shown caressing Malik, but she is also shown in a number of other contexts, dressed and positioned powerfully.
Furthermore, she is not the only woman in the video, which features (significantly) other women interacting with each other.
Aside from the way women are treated in this video, Malik has also become the first Pakistani to debut at number one on the charts in 50 countries.
On its own this is massively impressive, and when you combine this achievement with everything Malik did in One Direction and acknowledge the massive amount of racism he has had to deal with in his career, it is difficult not to be overwhelmed.
When Malik left One Direction he was followed by rumours of drug abuse, cheating and arrogance.
In spite of all of the negativity, Malik has clapped back against those who doubted him and his intentions.
He has spoken out about being a Muslim man in Western celebrity culture, he has spoken kindly of his fans and his former band mates, started a band which features two women, and has released a decent song with a video that is respectful of women's bodies.
For those who doubt that boy bands are able to have a positive influence on anyone's lives I challenge you to follow Malik's career.
He started off with a huge fan base made up almost exclusively of teenage girls and now he is on top of the world and helping others up alongside him.
●Millie Lovelock is a Dunedin student.
