One Direction will release their first album without Zayn Malik and the remaining four members of the band claim that this is their best work so far.

In a report by People, the group disclosed that their new album¸ Made in the A.M., is a product of hard work and team work.

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"Obviously, when you get the finished product, a voice that was there before isn't there anymore, so obviously that's different," Harry Styles said. "But we set out to make a record that we felt is our best one and we really have been really proud of the fact that we feel like we've done that."

The group revealed that they went through tough times immediately after Malik departed from the band.

"When you lose a member of the team, of course that's a hard thing to deal with, but actually what was kind of cool about the situation is we kind of knew that we had to bond together as a band at that stage, and we actually really did that," Louis Tomlinson recalled.

The album's first single, Drag Me Down, rocketed number one on iTunes in less than one hour after it was released, according to HollywoodLife.  

What makes it more interesting is that there were no promotions, announcements or teasers before the release of Drag Me Down.

It was only on the group's official Twitter account that the announcement came out.

"HEY GUYS! So, #DragMeDown dropped earlier," said the group. A short video was also posted with Liam Payne speaking for the group. He was surrounded by Styles, Tomlinson and Niall Horan in the video.

"Hey guys, our new single is out now. We hope you like it. It's our first song from our new album that we've been working very very hard on. We can't wait for you to hear it. See you soon, lots of love," said Payne in the video.

TagsOne Direction, One Direction Drag Me Down, One Direction Tour, One Direction Made in A.M., One Direction Zayn Malik