"Pillowtalk" (stylized as "PILLOWTALK") is the debut single by English singer and songwriter Zayn, for his debut solo studio album Mind of Mine. He co-wrote the track with Anthony Hannides, Michael Hannides, Joe Garrett, and its producer Levi Lennox.[1][2] The song was released as the lead single from the album on January 29, 2016, along with its own music video, which features Zayn's partner, American model Gigi Hadid. It debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart and US Billboard Hot 100, making Malik the first British artist to debut at No. 1 in the US with a debut single.
After signing a recording deal with RCA Records,[3] Zayn gave several interviews with music magazines, such as The Fader and Billboard, to talk about his debut record. He stated "life experiences have been the influences for the album and just stuff that I've been through, especially in the last five years." He said the record will musically lean towards R&B, but will also have some tunes leaning towards R&B-rock or reggae.[4] Zayn's solo debut album Mind of Mine[5] was released on 25 March 2016.[6] On 24 January 2016, Zayn revealed the release date and promotional cover-art of the lead single "Pillowtalk" through Twitter.[7] It is Zayn's debut solo single after he left One Direction in March 2015.[8] Zayn wrote the song shortly after leaving the group, in collaboration with co-writers Mike and Anthony Hannides.[9] Speaking about his new single with The Sunday Times, Zayn said that "Pillowtalk" was written about sex, which he described as "so pure, so dirty and raw," adding, "everybody has sex, and it’s something people wanna hear about. It’s part of everybody’s life, a very big part of life. And you don’t want to sweep it under the carpet."[10][11] The song was inspired about and written shortly before he split from his ex-fiancé, Little Mix's Perrie Edwards.[12] Subsequently, "Pillowtalk" was made available for digital download in most countries worldwide via the iTunes Store on 29 January 2016.[13] It achieved worldwide success by topping the charts in a variety of markets, with combined sales and track-equivalent streams of 8 million units according to IFPI.
An acoustic version of the track, "Pillowtalk", was released on 3 February 2016.[14] On Snapchat, Zayn revealed a snippet of a "Pillowtalk" remix featuring American rapper Lil Wayne,[15] which was later released as "Pillowtalk (Lil Wayne Remix)" for digital download on 25 February 2016;[16] it is a hip hop remix with rapping by Lil Wayne along with rapping and rap-singing by Zayn.[17][18] The original version of "Pillowtalk" has been included in the compilation album Now That's What I Call Music! 93.[19]