'1D's Zayn will regret quitting', says Ronan Keating

Ronan Keating and Storm Uechtritz

Elaine McCahill

Singer Ronan Keating has said Zayn Malik will regret leaving One Direction.

The 38-year-old empathised with the stresses of being in a famous boyband, but thinks he made the wrong choice.

"I know what a pressure cooker being in a band like that can be," he said.

"I felt like that too - I had to get out, but I don't think he should have left. I think he should have taken a break instead.

Singer Zayn Malik attends the Louis Vuitton Menswear Spring/Summer 2016 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on June 25, 2015 in Paris, France. (Photo by Dominique Charriau/WireImage)

"Because he will regret it. It's a great band, a great opportunity.

"He's a young lad, and I think he will regret it."

Keating is currently working on a "pop folk" solo album.

"It sounds like Glen Hansard and Damien Rice and Ray LaMontagne, John Mayer," he told Bang Showbiz.

"It's got a more organic kind of pop folk feel, singer/songwritery feel to the songs.

"I mean, I was working on the show, Once, over the winter and that very much influenced me as a guitar player and as a songwriter.

"So there's this much more kind of pop folk feel to these songs."