Following the release of his fourth studio album “Room Under the Stairs” on May 17, singer-songwriter Zayn Malik announced his first ever solo tour on Sept. 18 in a silent appearance on “The Tonight Show.” He casually walked onto the stage with a cup of coffee and left a note for host Jimmy Fallon to read. Fallon recited the letter aloud.
“Hey Jimmy, great to see you mate,” Fallon said as he read from Malik’s letter. “I’m going on my first-ever tour this autumn. So maybe when you’re done picking apples with your buds, you can check my Stairway to the Sky tour across the U.S. and U.K.”
This was Malik’s second appearance on the Tonight Show; he had announced his album in a similar way on March 13: by walking onto the stage and playing a segment of “What I Am,” the album’s first single. A couple days later, Malik went on to officially announce the album and the artwork on his Instagram.
The singer had started teasing a tour announcement days before actually announcing it by posting videos with a countdown throughout a series of Instagram stories. The videos contained pictures of a field with small numbers written at the top. The numbers started at 43, until on day 35, he finally announced the tour.
Malik officially announced his tour by publishing the dates on his Instagram page, in which he expressed his gratitude for the patience of fans. After suffering with anxiety, Malik struggled with being back on stage. Nine years later though, Malik has confirmed that he is ready.
“STAIRWAY TO THE SKY TOUR 2024,” Malik said in the Instagram caption. “Appreciate your patience, love and support… See you in 35 days… Tickets on sale Saturday but VIP Key holders will get first access to tickets beginning tomorrow.”
The general sale of tickets went live on Sept. 21 on Ticketmaster. The tour was originally set to begin on Oct. 23 but following the tragic loss of Malik’s former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne, Malik postponed the start date of the U.S. leg of the tour and announced the rescheduled dates. Malik explained to the public that tickets bought for previous dates would still be valid for rescheduled shows. The U.K. leg of the tour is set to continue as scheduled.
The U.S. leg of the tour has been rescheduled for January and February of 2025 and will now begin in Washington D.C. ‘s venue, the Anthem, instead of San Francisco’s venue, the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. The tour is still scheduled to be in the same U.S. cities as originally rescheduled but will now kick off in Edinburgh’s O2 Academy on Nov. 20.
Due to high demand and high-selling tickets, Malik had to add four additional shows in the U.K., including a second night in London’s Eventim Apollo, a second night in Edinburgh and completely new shows in Manchester and Leeds.
Three days following the announcement of the tour, Malik’s official management announced the tour had been sold out. In celebration, the singer posted an uncaptioned selfie on his personal Instagram.
The Stairway to the Sky Tour will be Malik’s fifth world tour, but first solo tour. Malik went on four world tours with One Direction before announcing his departure from the band on March 25, 2015, during One Direction’s On the Road Again Tour. After his departure, Malik went on to release three albums: “Mind of Mine,” “Icarus Falls” and “Nobody is Listening.” His first album kick-started his solo career with the hit song “PILLOWTALK,” and shaped his new fanbase.
In May, Malik performed a “one-night only” show in London’s O2 Sheperd’s Empire, in which he played a 12-minute documentary showing his experience recording the album and preparing to perform for the first time in seven years. After the documentary, Malik appeared from behind a transparent curtain and performed “My Woman” from his new album. Throughout the night, Malik sang six songs, including his single “Alienated.” Fans said that his performance was “electric” and “unforgettable.”
Emotion and excitement await those who were lucky enough to get tickets for the tour. The shows will be played at rather small venues, such as New York’s Hammerstein at Manhattan Center Ballroom, which has a capacity of 2,500 people. Fans expect the shows to have a sense of intimacy to them, and the size of the places he is performing will highlight the raw instrumentals of Malik’s new and old albums.
