Posted by Marlou Arizala on Monday, 1 February 2016

MANILA - Marlou, arguably the most famous member of Hasht5, is leaving the boy group and striking out on his own, he announced on his Twitter account.

"Hindi na ako Hasht5!" the red-haired Marlou wrote, evoking funny fan comparisons to singer Zayn Malik, who earlier decided to quit One Direction.

Marlou's departure was later confirmed by his former groupmate Erick, who posted a photo on his Facebook account of the remaining Hasht5 members -- CJ, Vincent, and Jhimwell.

He wrote: "Wala na nang mawawala hindi ba? Apat man tayo, tuloy natin hanggang dulo."

Hasht5 was the brainchild of Marlou and Vincent, church choir members who decided to form a group who can sing, dance, and act to dominate the Internet.

A parody of sorts of boy groups who rely on good looks to garner fans, Hasht5 rose to fame after going viral through hilarious song covers and photo shoots on social media sites Facebook and Twitter.

In an interview with ABS-CBN News' Erik Tenedero, Marlou said: "Noong una, katuwaan lang ito. Tapos nu’ng nag-viral na, sabi ko nakalagay du’n sa page namin ‘entertainer.’ So as an entertainer kailangan po naming i-entertain ‘yung ibang tao."

Marlou earlier vowed to never leave the boy group despite receiving "numerous" offers for a solo career, he added.

"Sabi ko mahal ko yung Hasht5 --diyan ako nanggaling kaya hindi ko iiwan yung grupo ko. Hindi po ako aalis pangako ko po," he said.

The group has since made appearances on Sunday variety show "ASAP" and "Gandang Gabi Vice."

(RELATED STORY: Meet the Hasht5)