Last week Selena Gomez cancelled her Dubai November gig and now former One Directioner Zayn Malik has announced that he’s skipping his Dubai show, which was planned for October 7.

It looks like touring solo is just too much for Malik right now: “I have been working over the last three months to overcome my extreme anxiety around major live solo performances,” he explained of the decision.

“I feel I am making progress but I have today acknowledged that I do not feel sufficiently confident to move forward with the planned show in Dubai in October. I am assured that all tickets will be refunded. I am truly sorry to disappoint you. I hope to see you all soon.”

All ticket holders will receive full refunds from their respective point of sales – and refund arrangement details can be found on all ticketing sites and at Virgin Mega Store outlets.

This isn’t the first time his anxiety has led him to cancel a show. In June this year he cancelled a London show and admitted in a statement that it was due to his building anxiety:

“Unfortunately, my anxiety that has haunted me throughout the last few months around live performances has gotten the better of me…with the magnitude of the event, I have suffered the worst anxiety of my career. I cannot apologize enough but I want to be honest with everyone who has patiently waited to see me. I promise I will do my best to make this up to everybody I’ve let down today.”

There are no firm plans announced for Zayn to come to Dubai at a later date but we’ll let you know as soon as anything’s announced. 

Zayn made history as the first male UK solo artist to debut at #1 with their first album when he released Mind Of Mine, which has a far moodier and more adult tone than anything One Direction ever produced.

His electronic, R&B slow jam hybrids have been received well, with Pillowtalk giving him the highest first time streams of any first-time solo artist.

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