Liam Payne’s Death Marks the Loss of a ‘Brother’ & A Beloved Boy Band
When One Direction arrived in America in 2011, the five-member British boy band took the pop world by storm. More than a decade later, fans of the wildly popular group were devastated to learn of the death of Liam Payne last week at age 31.
The four remaining members of the group — Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson — united once more to share a heartbreaking message to their lost “brother,” writing on the band’s Instagram page: “We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing. In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly.”
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On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith reflect on Payne’s loss and discuss how his tragic death robs 1D fans of the chance to ever see their beloved group perform together again.
Also on the show, we’ve got chart news on a very busy top 10 on the Billboard 200, where Jelly Roll nabs his first No. 1 album, Rod Wave keeps up his hot streak of top 10s, and Charli XCX gets a remix-fueled BRAT surge back into the top three. Plus, Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” spends a 15th nonconsecutive week atop the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, while Ariana Grande gets her 48th top 40-charting hit on the list, thanks to her new collaboration with Charli XCX.
The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard’s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard’s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)
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