Will One Direction survive Zayn Malik’s departure? A look back at 5 other boy bands that lost key players

Could One Direction be left directionless without one of its key members? On Wednesday the British boy band revealed that Zayn Malik had left the group after five years, and resounding sobs were heard from Directioners worldwide.

“Niall [Horan], Harry [Styles], Liam [Payne], and Louis [Tomlinson] will continue as a four-piece and look forward to the forthcoming concerts of their world tour and recording their fifth album, due to be released later this year,” their Facebook message read.

In an accompanying statement, Malik himself revealed why he had quit. “I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight,” he wrote.

So will the band be as strong without Malik by their side? We look back at the big boy band breakups of the past and, to be honest, it could go either way:

The Backstreet Boys
After forming in 1993, this five-strong band hit a road bump when Kevin Richardson decided to leave in 2006. Two days after he left, the group returned to the studio to record “Unbreakable.” Richardson was back on stage with the group on their tour to promote the album, though he didn’t officially return until 2010. They are still together to this day.

‘N Sync
After forming in 1995, ‘N Sync was forced to have a serious talk when Justin Timberlake, whose solo star was rising, decided to leave the band in the early 2000s. According to Lance Bass’s memoir “Out of Sync,” the group held a meeting in the summer of 2004, two years after they went on hiatus, about Timberlake’s decision to quit. Though they have since made a number of token appearances (they last reunited at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.), Bass said it was Timberlake’s decision to leave that made them say bye bye for good.

New Kids on the Block
He was always the most sensitive member of the band, but in 1994 – 10 years after New Kids on the Block formed – Jordan Knight decided to leave the band after experiencing a series of panic attacks. He quit at the end of their Face the Music tour. “I felt that we had done it long enough,” he told People in 2000. “I was the first to jump ship. The others were angry at first, but they understood.” Once he was gone, the remaining members quickly decided to disband and start families of their own.

New Edition
Bobby Brown’s R&B group formed in 1978, but less than 10 years later he was ousted in December 1985 due to his bad behaviour and added Johnny Gill to the group in 1987. In 1990, the other band members, spurred on by Brown’s solo success, decided to pursue their own projects. However, the band never officially broke up and continue to perform together to this day.

The Jackson 5
In the mid 1960s, these ultra-talented brothers formed the Jackson 5. But becoming the Motown label’s biggest money makers turned out to be a double edged sword. By launching Michael Jackson’s solo career in 1971, in order to increase sales, Motown inadvertently started the group’s decline. Jermaine Jackson subsequently started his own solo career, and by the late ‘80s the band was on hiatus.