At dawn, the band arrived at Universal CityWalk at Universal Orlando Resort for several of their biggest hits. The concert, broadcast on the Today show was his first concert to promote her latest album, Four.
As people watched from behind the scenes, the band walked to the stage of the water's edge in a motorboat. The crowd of more than 15,000 people responded with deafening screams.
But when the boy band took the stage, one member was missing: Zayn Malik had made the trip from London on Sunday night.
Today Matt Lauer addressed the issue directly during the show.
"I'm counting here and see four chairs," he said. "Normally, we are used to seeing five. Where's Zayn?"
"He has a stomach bug so it is not very good right now, so I could not do it," said bandmate Liam Payne. "We found out this morning, so we are very sad and it is thus that it can not be here for our day of release of the album. It's still going to be a great day."
Lauer continued. "There has been a lot of action in social networks about him," he said. "Is it something more serious than just a minor illness? There have been rumors of substance abuse. What's going on?"
"No, he just got a stomach virus," said Payne. "He's fine at home;. I just need to rest That He's fine.".
As for when Malik will join the band, "We're not sure yet," Payne said. "We are waiting for a phone call from him."
During one of the breaks, Horan addressed the crowd about Malik.
"I really miss him," he said. "We can not wait to get better. We look forward to having him here."
Despite the absence of Malik today's stars were still pleased with the concert.
"Your new album is called Four," weatherman Al Roker joked to People magazine backstage. "Maybe they knew Zayn would fail all the time. No, really, hope he recovers soon."
"I took a mandatory Self-timer with the band to show my kids," said Lauer PEOPLE. "I do not think it will be too disturbed by the fact that there were only four of them today. They still put on a fantastic show."
