The Only One Direction tribute act:
Look at this tribute act. They seem like close friends. Maybe even best friends. This snap was taken at a much happier time, before Zayn's departure from One Direction was announced today, triggering a tsunami of teenage tears.
Here at BuzzFeed, we wondered: What will happen to this tribute act, and all the other tribute acts, now that Zayn has left the group?
"We will absolutely carry on," the spokesperson for Only One Direction told BuzzFeed. "We are the closest thing to One Direction in the world, other than the band itself."
He seemed pretty confident. But will the act perform as a five-piece group or a four-piece group?
"We will also build a four-piece, for concerts and tours. If people want to see Zayn, we are going to give them the closest thing."
Will there be a discount for fans who request a four-piece band instead of the original lineup?
"Yeah, we'll do a cheaper option – about 20% cheaper."
The Wanted Direction tribute act:
To be honest, I wasn't sure who the Zayn look-alike was in this lineup. They all appear to be rather white.
Regardless, I asked a member of their management what they plan to do about the loss of Zayn.
"We're not sure. I mean, we've only used Take That as a three-piece act maybe once before – but every other time, fans have always requested them as a four- to five-[piece] tribute act."
"It depends on what the public perception is and what they want. If they want five members, we'll do five, but if they want four members, we'll do four members."
Tragic.
But perhaps more importantly, what will the tribute act want? Will there be tension with if someone requests a set without their Zayn lookalike?
"No, not at all. They'll want to stay together as a five-piece."
:praying hands emoji:
The One Direction Tribute tribute act:
All seems safe in the One Direction tribute act world. So far, management teams seem set on keeping the group together.
"I don't think they've made a decision yet. It's all new and we'll see what the best route is for them," the spokesperson for One Direction Tribute said.
"But we do the option of a four-piece tribute act, yes. It's up to the individuals hiring them, really."
In the meantime, would you just look at their fierce posing game?
The Maximum 1D tribute act.
The strength and unity of these tribute acts was overwhelming. The last band on my list was Maximum 1D. What would they do next?
"We're going to carry on using Zayn – we are not going to take him out of the show. We're going to carry on because all of our material has Zayn in it," said the spokesperson for the group.
How did they find out the news?
"Well, we have a group message, and one of the boys sent a link about it, and we were all shocked. The tribute member who acts as Zayn said he'd quit – but he was just joking. He's French, he doesn't say much. The other boys laughed."
She added that she wasn't shocked herself at the announcement: "We saw he was unhappy, but we're going to carry on."
"It's funny that their latest album was called Four, what with Zayn now leaving."
Funny indeed.
I blasted out "Night Changes" in the BuzzFeed office and poured liquor onto the floor.
We love you, Zayn.