Zayn Malik has appeared to throw subtle shade at Harry Styles after making a pointed remark about ticket prices during a recent live performance.

The singer is currently approaching the end of a seven night residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas, Nevada. During the run, he has also been unveiling previously unheard material, including the track ‘Die For Me’.

At last night’s show on Wednesday January 28, Malik seemed to reference his former One Direction bandmate while addressing the audience.

“Who’s from Vegas? Who’s from elsewhere?” he asked. “I just want to say a massive thank you to every single one of you for being here with me tonight. You could’ve been anywhere, but you chose to spend your evening with me.”

He then followed it up with a joking aside about the cost of attending the show. “Hopefully the ticket prices weren’t too high just saying!” he laughed, before brushing it off with a shrug. “Anyway!…”

Many fans took the comment as a possible reference to ongoing conversations surrounding ticket prices for Styles’ forthcoming Wembley Stadium dates. Pre sales for the summer shows launched earlier this week, with general sale set for tomorrow on Friday January 30.

Ticketmaster has since confirmed that prices were set by the organiser, ranging from £44.10 to £466.25 including fees, plus a £2.95 handling charge per order. Prices are expected to remain the same throughout pre sale and general sale, indicating that Ticketmaster’s controversial dynamic pricing model will not be in effect. Rear pitch standing tickets are priced at £144.65, front section standing comes in at £198.95, while pit standing tickets cost £279.45.

Some fans reacted negatively, with one describing the prices as “absolutely insane”. Another wrote: “£466 in this economy are you SERIOUS???!!!!”

By contrast, standard tickets for Malik’s Las Vegas residency are priced between $92.98 which converts to £67.30 and $223.39 around £162, according to Ticketmaster. There are also Premium tickets currently listed for as much as $479.81 or £347, while the highest priced Verified Resale ticket is $609.28 which is roughly £441 at the time of writing.

Others quickly took to social media to respond to Malik’s on stage remark. One fan tweeted: “Oh the Harry shade 😭.” Another added: “I’M DYING he’s so sassy I love it 😭.” A third simply wrote: “Savage 😂.”

However, not everyone was convinced by the criticism, with some rushing to defend Styles. One X Twitter user commented: “[Malik] does his residency at Las Vegas. Ain’t no way you speak to me about prices.” Another added: “OK, but Harry has the demand…. 🤭😌.”

Elsewhere, others accused Malik of hypocrisy. “Lmfao… he can’t say that when his tickets were even more expensive???” one person wrote, sharing screenshots which claimed he had previously used dynamic pricing and sold Platinum Tickets.

Malik is set to wrap up his Las Vegas residency with two final shows tomorrow on Friday January 30 and Saturday January 31.

Styles, meanwhile, has broken the record for the most shows played by any artist at London’s Wembley Stadium within a single year, overtaking Coldplay’s ten night run from last summer. He is scheduled to perform 12 dates at the venue as part of his global ‘Together, Together’ tour.

Harry Styles. CREDIT: Johnny Dufort

The singer will also surpass the record for the highest number of Wembley performances by a solo artist on a single tour, beating the eight night total set by Taylor Swift in 2024. “We are incredibly proud to welcome Harry Styles back to Wembley Stadium for what will be a truly historic run of shows. The 12 nights will be among the most special in our stadium’s long history,” a venue spokesperson said.

Styles will be joined in London by special guest Shania Twain. He has also committed to donating £1 from every ticket sold to LIVE’s levy, which supports UK grassroots music venues.

The shows come in support of his fourth solo album ‘Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally’, which is due for release on March 6. He has already shared the project’s lead single ‘Aperture’, alongside its official music video. The track features backing vocals from Wolf Alice frontwoman Ellie Rowsell.

NME awarded the single four stars, calling it “Styles as we’ve not heard him before”.

“‘Aperture’ is driven by a softly pulsing beat that becomes euphoric through bursts of house piano, flashes of distorted fuzz and the 31 year old’s powerful chorus delivery of ‘We belong together’,” the review continued. “With long droning chords layered throughout, it may be the closest we get to hearing Styles fronting LCD Soundsystem.”

Styles has also spoken about the influence of James Murphy and his band on the track. “I think the inspiration from them was thinking, ‘That’s how I want to feel on stage’, and that really shaped the kind of music I started making,” he explained.

He has previously discussed the need to reconnect with music following time away after releasing ‘Harry’s House’ in 2022.

Elsewhere, Styles is set to perform live at the BRIT Awards 2026 ceremony next month, where he is expected to debut new material from the upcoming album.

Meanwhile, former One Direction member Louis Tomlinson released his third solo album ‘How Did I Get Here?’ last week. He recently spoke with NME about the record, rediscovering his confidence, Styles’ new music and more.