Room Under the Stairs

Room Under the Stairs
Studio album by Zayn
Released	17 May 2024 (2024-05-17)
Recorded	2018–2024
Genre	Soft rock country
Length	49:05
Label	Mercury Republic
Producer	Carter Lang Dave Cobb German Gian Stone James Ghaleb Rodaidh McDonald Zayn
Zayn chronology
Nobody Is Listening (2021) Room Under the Stairs (2024)
Singles from Room Under the Stairs
"What I Am" Released: 15 March 2024 "Alienated" Released: 12 April 2024 "Stardust" Released: 17 May 2024

Room Under the Stairs is the fourth studio album by English singer-songwriter Zayn, released on 17 May 2024 through Mercury and Republic Records. Production was handled by Zayn himself and Dave Cobb. The album was preceded by the singles: "What I Am", "Alienated", and "Stardust".

Background

"This is my favorite album that I've made to date, mainly because it comes from a place of sheer honesty and vulnerability, I wanted each song to feel as if it was just me sitting beside you telling you how I feel, singing directly to you. It's raw and stripped back and the type of music I always hoped to make. Working with Dave Cobb has been an amazing experience. The way he's elevated the music is second to none, and he has done an incredible job helping me create this record. I hope we can take listeners on some whimsical, magical journey, and that they enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed making it."

"I think just being where I was at that time, staying away from things and living with my own thoughts inspired me to want to write something from that place. I've got to put this out as a whole body of work, it's something for myself, not even just for the world."

 — Zayn via Rolling Stone

In July 2023, Zayn was interviewed by Alexandra Cooper of Call Her Daddy, where he revealed that he was recording a new album and spoke about some of its content and sound: "I'm doing a record I don't think people are really gonna expect. It's a different sound for me. And it's got some more narrative going on, like real-life experiences and stuff. My daughter's mentioned in there a couple of times".

On 28 February 2024, American record producer Dave Cobb revealed that he was extensively working with Zayn on the latter's upcoming album in an interview with Rolling Stone, in which he said: "What got me about Zayn was his voice, you can hear love, loss, pain, triumph and humanity in it. I feel as if this record is removing the glass from his spirit directly to his fans. Zayn has really created his own universe on this record, he really has no fear and is speaking straight from his soul". Exactly a week later, in a teaser video, Zayn said: "I think the intention behind this album fully is for the listener to get more insight on me personally as a human being".

The cover art for Room Under The Stairs serves as a visual metaphor for a new beginning for Zayn, featuring his silhouette superimposed on a simplified concept illustration of a room under a staircase. The use of the blueprint drawing conveys the idea of life under construction, paralleling Zayn's deliberate crafting of new musical narratives. The contrast between the silhouette underscores the album's exploration of intimate aspects of the artist's mind and the conception of fresh beginnings.

Conception and influence

Album

"I think the intention behind this album fully is for the listener to get more insight on me personally as a human being… my ambitions, my fears, and for them to have a connection with that and that's why it's so raw. It's just me. There's just me writing this, I didn't want anyone else to be in between me and the music, and the music and the people listening to it."

 — Zayn via social media

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Zayn stated that listening to Chris Stapleton and Willie Nelson inspired the songwriting for this album. Putting aside the glossy R&B of his earlier releases in favor of a more rustic and soulful sound inspired by the likes of Stapleton and Nelson.

According to Clash, 'Room Under the Stairs' is a "true coming-of-age story, rooted in an organic, live environment where he draws on genres such as soul, country, and pop, and his lyrical sincerity and renewed creative freedom have taken his music in an exciting and interesting direction that no one saw coming."

Release and promotion

The album was announced alongside with its release date on 13 March 2024, and will be released on 17 May 2024. Zayn released a 45 seconds teaser-trailer on 6 March 2024 and made the album available for pre-order.

Singles

"What I Am" was released on 15 March 2024 as the lead single for the album, it was accompanied by a lyric video.

"Alienated", the second single for the album was released with an accompanying live performance on 12 April 2024.

"Stardust" was the third single of the album, it was accompanied with a music video and was released same day of the album.

Live show

Zayn announced his first-ever solo live show at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire on May 17 in celebration of the release of his fourth album ‘Room Under The Stairs‘. He will be performing a selection of tracks from his new LP.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Clash	7/10
Rolling Stone UK
The Guardian
Dork
The Daily Telegraph

Shannon Garner of Clash that the record "is a revealing meditation of his journey in life where he lays his thoughts and feelings bare and the songs are built on a relaxing energy that can calm an audience in seconds." she also added that the album "not only finds Zayn demonstrating a very natural outlet for his imagination, beginning an intriguing new chapter of his career, but it also finds him exploring the hard notion of healing and self-discovery whilst remaining true to himself and that's something his fans should be proud of."

Track listing

All tracks are written by Zain Javadd Malik, except where noted. All tracks are produced by Zayn and Dave Cobb, except where noted.

Room Under the Stairs track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Dreamin"	3:32
2.	"What I Am"	3:31
3.	"Grateful"	3:22
4.	"Alienated"	4:07
5.	"My Woman"	3:42
6.	"How It Feels"	2:59
7.	"Stardust" (writers: Malik, Cobb, Gian Stone, James Ghaleb, Sean Douglas, Casey Smith; producers: Cobb, Stone, Ghaleb)	3:52
8.	"Gates of Hell"	2:39
9.	"Birds on a Cloud"	3:12
10.	"Concrete Kisses"	3:45
11.	"False Starts" (writers: Carter Lang, Rodaidh McDonald, Daniel Wilson; producers: Lang, McDonald)	3:28
12.	"The Time"	3:13
13.	"Something in the Water" (writers: Zayn, Kareen Loomax, Francisca Hall, Conor Blake, Oliver Peterhof; producers: Cobb, German, Loomax[a])	2:31
14.	"Shoot at Will"	2:37
15.	"Fuchsia Sea"	2:28
Total length:		49:05

Note

• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer

Personnel

Musicians

• Zayn – lead vocals (all tracks), background vocals (track 7)
• Philip Towns – keyboards (tracks 1–10, 12–15), percussion (4, 8, 10)
• Derrek Phillips – drums (tracks 1–10, 12–15), percussion (1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10)
• Dave Cobb – electric guitar (tracks 1–7, 9–10, 13, 15), acoustic guitar (4, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15), percussion (4, 8)
• Brian Allen – bass (tracks 1–6, 8–10, 12–15)
• Logan Todd – percussion (track 5)
• Sean Douglas - background vocals (track 7)
• James Alan – bass, electric guitar (track )
• Gian Stone - drums, electric guitar, percussion, programming (track 7)
• Carter Lang – bass, drums, guitar, synthesizer (track 11)
• Rodaidh McDonald – guitar, percussion, programming, synthesizer (track 11)
• German – drums, keyboards, programming (track 13)
• Kareen Lomax – guitar (track 13)

Technical

• Daniel Bacigalupi – mastering
• Pete Lyman – mastering
• Greg Koller – mixing (tracks 1–6, 8–15), engineering (1–10, 12–15)
• Jeremie Inhaber – mixing (track 7)
• Daniel Zaidenstadt – engineering
• Gian Stone – engineering (track 7)
• Carter Lang – engineering (track 11)
• Rodaidh McDonald – engineering (track 11)
• Eric Caudieux – editing (tracks 5, 6, 13, 14)
• Justin Cortelyou – editing (track 14)
• Ethan Barrette – engineering assistance

Release history

Release history and formats for Room Under the Stairs

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label	Ref.
Various	17 May 2024	Digital download streaming	Mercury Republic
		CD vinyl cassette