Although the numbers appear to be completely random, they are actually quite intentional and, as Body Art Guru explained, represent the start of his career on The X-Factor over two decades ago. Upon rearranging the numbers seen on Malik's right hand, his X-Factor audition number, 1-6-5-6-1-6, can be found.

According to a report from the Daily Mail, Zayn Malik appeared on the singing competition series' seventh season in the summer of 2010 and performed Mario's "Let Me Love You" during his audition. While Malik was ultimately eliminated before the final round of the competition, he ultimately teamed him up with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson to form the boy band One Direction.

After placing third in the competition in December of that same year, Malik and his former bandmates were signed by Simon Cowell to a contract worth an estimated $2.765 million.