Does One Direction go in a new direction after Zayn? 

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Zayn Malik\'s departure from 1D is permanent, the band says."Obviously, people are really upset," says Billboard assistant editor Jason Lipshutz. "It\'s the end of an era for one of the most successful artists of the 2010s."

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Brian Mansfield, USA TODAY 11:07 p.m. EDT March 25, 2015

Zayn Malik's departure from One Direction leaves many questions unanswered for fans.

"There\'s been a lot of drama going on involving Zayn Malik," says the 19-year-old One Direction fan from Raynham, Mass. When the group announced last week that Malik would miss a few dates on the current world tour because of stress, she says, "my friends and I were thinking, \'He\'s not going to come back.\' "

Sure enough, on Wednesday, the English-Irish boy band posted on its Facebook page that Malik\'s departure would be permanent. "I want to be a normal 22-year-old," the singer said in his statement.

Billboard associate editor Jason Lipshutz, "and I think they have the right to be upset. It\'s the end of an era for one of the most successful artists of the 2010s."

The 5 stages of grief over Zayn Malik leaving One Direction

Billboard, 1D has sold 6.49 million albums and more than 23 million downloads. They also had 2014\'s top-grossing tour, pulling in $290 million worldwide and becoming the trade publication\'s artist of the year in the process.

"There\'s no real heir apparent," says Boston-based music writer Maura Johnston. "Although who knows, perhaps there are five kids on Vine that will break out now that the first crack in the One Direction façade has emerged."

"Any boy band goes in with the clock ticking," says journalist Alan Light, author of Let\'s Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain.

One Direction and its handlers seemed as aware of that fact as anybody, releasing albums each fall since 2011 like clockwork and announcing their next even as they broke the news about Malik.

"They\'ve already put out four albums, which is a lot for any band that started in 2010, and they\'ve toured seemingly nonstop during that time," says Johnston.

Few boy bands have maintained career ascendancy beyond their fourth albums. The Backstreet Boys lost A.J. McLean to rehab for a while after 2000\'s Black & Blue and didn\'t release another album for four years. \'N Sync didn\'t even make it to album No.4.

What happens when bands lose a member?

"All bands are fragile things, boy bands in particular," Light says. "There are obvious reasons for that fragility — sudden and overwhelming success at a time in the performers\' lives where they\'re still growing up."

One Direction\'s fervent fan base may have contributed to the pressure, Johnston says. "We\'ve all heard about the teen idols of yore who got warped by the vagaries of fame. Then add the microscope of the celebrity press and the echo chamber that is social media."

In the eyes of One Direction fans, Malik took comments in the press and on social media personally, especially when it came to his relationship with fiancée Perrie Edwards of Little Mix.

Zayn Malik, center, is leaving behind One Direction bandmates Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles. The band will continue without him, the group said.

"Zayn\'s always been the one in the group that struggled with the negative side of the fame the most," says fan Emma Hamilton of Nashville. "It\'s been hard on him. I guess it got to be too much, and he wanted to focus on making himself as happy as he could."

Hamilton says her little sister burst into tears when they and their friends got the notification over lunch. "We knew Zayn had taken a few days off," Hamilton says. "We were joking early today that if Zayn quit we\'d have to cancel our plans for the summer."

Belmosto, who attended three stops on the group\'s last U.S. tour, had planned to buy tickets in the secondary market for this year\'s stadium tour. Now, she\'s not sure she will. "Who knows if they\'ll even make it to the end of the tour at this point?" she says.

Girl Scout tribute to Zayn Malik? SWEETEST. THING. EVER.

"It\'ll be like going to an amusement park and not being able to ride the best rollercoaster," says Hamilton, 22, who has seen the group 10 times, even flying to Dublin for two shows.

Many fans consider Malik the group\'s best pure singer and the person responsible for its high harmonies. Without him, Hamilton says, "I think everyone feels like it\'s Nial, Liam, Louis and Harry — but not One Direction anymore."

For now, the group continues on its On the Road Again world tour as a four-piece, with a Wednesday night show in Jakarta, Indonesia, followed by weekend concerts in Johannesburg. Promoter Live Nation hasn\'t given any indication that the tour\'s North American leg, set to start July 9 in San Diego and run through Sept. 12, is in jeopardy.

"Will people demand refunds?" wonders Johnston. "How are the Zayn moments going to be dealt with in concert? Video screens? Other members picking up the slack?" The situation reminds her of the time she saw the Spice Girls in 1998 after Geri Halliwell\'s departure from the group.

Your One Direction "Zayn's leaving the band" playlist

"There was definitely something missing," she says. "But, then again, a lot of the communal experience was singing along with

Wannabe and Say You\'ll Be There and not ogling individual members."

In its Facebook statement, One Direction said it looked forward to recording its new album and continuing on the next stages of its world tour. The language in both Malik\'s and the group\'s statements is respectful and friendly, with nobody burning bridges.

"If there\'s a silver lining, it\'s that they will continue as a quartet and release a new album later this year," Lipshutz says. "So it\'s not the end of One Direction, it\'s just one of the biggest groups starting a new phase."

Fresh on the scene, the guys attend the Kids Choice Awards \'way\' back in 2012. 

Surf\'s up! The boy band accepts their honorary surfboard at the 2013 Teen Choice Awards. 

Aw! Zayn Malik brought mom Tricia to the premiere of \'One Direction: This Is Us 3D\' in 2013. 

When in Brooklyn...the guys pose with Lady Gaga backstage at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. 

Everyone\'s got their favorite 1D guys. For these fans, it\'s Zayn. 

These guys travel a lot. Here\'s a shot of Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik in Tokyo in 2013. 

The guys perform onstage during the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas. 

(Photo: Ethan Miller, Getty Images for Clear Channel)

You know you\'ve made it when...One Direction prepared to meet the royals at a charity performance in London last year. 

Not even Harry Styles (who inspired T-Swift\'s song, \'Style\') was too cool for a moment meeting Duchess Kate. 

They\'re kid-friendly! Last year the boys hit \'Sesame Street\' to show what \'makes U Useful.\' 

One Direction took their \'On the Road Again\' tour to Sydney in February. 

They clean up pretty well, no? The guys looked dapper in Cannes last December. 

On March 19, Zayn Malik announced he was leaving the One Direction tour due to stress. 

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