Were you ready for Zayn’s solo album (which is out tonight) to turn into a meditation on the gossamer cage of fame, with a music video that’s essentially a Prince and the Pauper for the post-boy-band crowd? Glad to hear it, because that’s what Zayn’s “Befour†music video is — without that prince part, but with a great looking saffron hoodie. In “Befour,†Zayn pets a dog, trains at a gym, gets a haircut, lives the life of a normal, basically. But it’s all a little empty and ethereal. “So say what you wanna say, what you want,†Zayn croons, speaking perhaps to his former pals in One Direction, or perhaps to his fellow young people whom he only sees at a distance. “Shame is you won’t say that to my face.â€
At a fast-food joint, Zayn and his friends buy french fries, but we never see him eat them. What a metaphor.