Now that Zayn Malik has had his birthday, we reckon he’s bored of that all ‘being a normal 22-year-old’ business – mainly because he’s not 22 anymore.

This year, we’ll see the former One Direction star break out on his own to release his debut solo album.

But while most of the record has remained a mystery, here’s everything we know so far about Zayn’s exciting project…

It’s dropping ‘early spring 2016’

According to Billboard.

It’s being released through RCA Records

The label also represents Miguel, Miley Cyrus, Chris Brown and LOADS more – so no clues there as to what Zayn’s music will sound like.

Zayn was making a ‘very soulful record’… At least when Naughty Boy was involved

Before the iconic Twitter spat, Naughty Boy also told Capital FM: “He’s writing on it [the record] as well… I think it’s worth the wait.

“It’ll all make sense soon. Zayn’s his own man, no one can tell Zayn what to do, especially me!” Apparently so.

He’s been recording in some ridiculously cool places

They include his house in Bel Air, The Beverly Hills Hotel, The Palms Casino in Las Vegas after a night out and even during a camping trip in California.

People are using really fancy words to describe Zayn’s solo stuff

Some lucky folks have heard snippets of Zayn’s work already, and according to Billboard, the sound is very ‘slinky and propulsive’. Yep, not a clue what that means.

Zayn’s main collaborator (post-Zaughty) is James 'Malay' Ho

The producer is best known for his work on Frank Ocean’s Grammy-nominated album Channel Orange.

Don’t attempt to force a genre on the album because it can’t be done

“All the songs are different genres,” he told FADER magazine.

“They don’t really fit a specific type of music. They’re not like, ‘This is funk, this is soul, this is upbeat, this is a dance tune.’ Nothing is like that.

“I don’t really know what my style is yet. I’m kind of just showing what my influences are."

Still, it’s probably safe to say that One Direction’s sound won’t be involved

He explained to FADER: “As much as I was in that band, and I loved everything that we did, that’s not music that I would listen to.”

So far, the record has six confirmed track titles

They are *drum roll*: She, BeFour, It's You, Wrong, I Got Mine and My Ways.

Aaaaaand, that's about it right now. Roll on early spring, eh?

- By Charlotte Warwick