Liam Payne, one of the five members of the “The X Factor”-bred boy band One Direction, has died at the age of 31.
The singer died after falling three floors from a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, according to the Associated Press. Pablo Policicchio, the communications director for the Buenos Aires Security Ministry, said in a statement that Payne “had jumped from the balcony of his room.”
Payne was best known in One Direction for his recognizable falsettos that became an integral part of the band’s chart-topping bubblegum pop hits — “What Makes You Beautiful,” “Best Song Ever,” “Story of My Life,” “Night Changes,” among numerous others. As one of the highest-selling boy bands in modern history, the quintet sold over 70 million records worldwide during their time together between 2010 and 2016.
Born in Wolverhampton, England, Payne got his start in the music industry as a competitor on “The X Factor” in 2008 when he was 14 years old. He was cut from the show after judge Simon Cowell told him he was too young to continue, and requested for him to come back when he was older. It was also during this audition that Payne first met Cheryl Cole, whom he began officially dating in 2016. Cole was a judge alongside Cowell and Louis Walsh. They broke up in 2018 and share one child together, Bear Grey Payne.
Payne auditioned for “The X Factor” for a second time in 2010, singing Michael Bublé’s version of “Cry Me a River,” which earned him four greenlights and a standing ovation from Cowell. He was then famously placed in a group by judge Nicole Scherzinger, alongside Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik. They finished third on the show, and were subsequently signed to Cowell’s Syco Entertainment.
The world was first introduced to One Direction through video diaries produced and distributed by “The X Factor.” It was through these “diaries” that fans began to identify the members and their personalities and tropes, with Payne being deemed the most responsible or most “brotherly” member of the group. They were coached by Cowell and a team of vocal coaches on “The X Factor,” including Savan Kotecha, who co-wrote One Direction’s debut single “What Makes You Beautiful,” and would go on to write several more songs for the band from 2011 to 2013.
One Direction announced an indefinite hiatus in 2016, just one year after Malik became the first member to exit in pursuit of a solo career. Payne signed a solo record deal with Capitol Records UK in July 2016 (Republic Records served as Payne’s U.S.-based record label). He began releasing music as a solo act in 2017, starting with the single “Strip That Down” featuring Migos member Quavo. The song, co-written by Ed Sheeran, cracked the top 10 in the United States, and peaked at No. 3 in their native U.K. He released his debut album “LP1” in December 2019, reaching No. 17 in the U.K. Earlier this year, he put out his latest single “Teardrops,” accompanied by an acoustic version.
Payne was recently seen at Horan’s concert in Argentina on Oct. 2. As seen in videos shared to social media, Payne danced and clapped along while in the stands during the concert. He also shared a selfie with Horan backstage.
“I think we might just go and say hello,” he said in a video posted to Snapchat on Oct. 1. “It’s been a while since me and Niall have spoken. We’ve got a lot to talk about. And I would like to square up a couple of things with the boy. No bad vibes or anything like that. But just, um, we need to talk.”
Payne was open about his struggles with drinking and suicidal thoughts, and just last year stated that he had completed more than three months of sobriety. “I’m sober now, over 100 days,” he told IFL TV. “I feel amazing, I feel really, really good and the support from the fans has been really, really good, so I’m super happy.”
Payne was not married. He is survived by his 7-year-old son, Bear Grey Payne.
