The name itself gives this song a quite powerful meaning.

As an adamant ZAYN ‘stan’, I have followed the singer’s career from his X Factor days to his solo career by religiously streaming his music and consistently having him as my #1 artist on my Spotify Wrapped year after year. Because of my passionate dedication to him, my passion blog will be a review of some of my favorite songs from ZAYN’s debut album, Mind of Mine. In my fifth blog, I will be reviewing tRuTh.

In tRuTh, ZAYN speaks his truth (pun intended) about his transition from being a boy-band member of One Direction to becoming his own solo artist. The lyrics are very cut and clear:

“This ain’t my scene, this ain’t my dream.”

In many interviews, ZAYN has said that he never wanted to join a boy band. The backstory is that each member of One Direction was eliminated in the solo competition of the X Factor, and because the judges liked them all so much, they were put together in one group. However, that was never ZAYN’s intent— he always wanted to be his own solo artist. In an interview, he spoke on One Direction’s style of music: “I wasn’t 100 percent behind the music. It wasn’t me.”

In the prechorus and chorus, ZAYN confidently claims that his listeners will find out the truth soon enough:

“I won’t point any fingers, I won’t say it was you
I’ll let life take its time, and in time, you’ll see the truth”

“See the truth, see the truth”

ZAYN has very few interviews of him speaking on his past with One Direction, which proves that he does not want to directly blame anyone, but there is someone he has in mind. Many speculate that he is talking about Simon Cowell, who was the one to sign One Direction after they were eliminated in the X Factor.

In the bridge, ZAYN slips in one more message:

“I tried, hide it all”

ZAYN has expressed that while he was in the band, he was not allowed to sing a certain way, or change his appearance dramatically. When ZAYN sent in samples of R&B songs, they were rejected immediately because they were not pop. His managers had also told him that he could not dye his hair or grow out his beard in order to maintain a “boy band look”. Overall, ZAYN expresses with his lyrics just how oppressive the boy band industry is, and he hopes that people can finally see the truth.

Although the melody of this song is much more sad and slow than other songs that have been reviewed so far, there is still an R&B beat in the background. The song is also very mature sounding— although it may not be purposeful, it demonstrates just how much ZAYN has grown since his time with One Direction. He won’t point any fingers because he’s more mature as himself, as a solo artist.