Liam Payne, Pop Singer-Songwriter & Former One Direction Star, Dead at 31
Liam Payne, the former One Direction star who eventually blossomed into a successful solo career, died Wednesday (Oct. 16), according to CNN. He was 31 years old.
According to police, Payne died after falling from a third-floor hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Before his death, the local police received a phone call from the hotel, which reported the presence of a man with aggressive behavior. No further information has been revealed about the fall.
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Billboard has reached out to Payne’s reps for confirmation and more information.
The musician was best known as a key member of British boy band One Direction, which also included Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan. The group was formed in 2010 on the U.K. version of The X Factor. As a band, One Direction boasts more than 300 shows played across four sold-out world tours, four No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200, six Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits, four MTV Video Music Awards, 28 Teen Choice Awards, two Saturday Night Live appearances and billions of streams.
After the group went on hiatus in 2015, Payne launched his solo career in 2017 with the Quavo-assisted “Strip That Down,” which peaked at No. 10 on the Hot 100. After a string of singles, including “For You” from Fifty Shades Freed with Rita Ora, “Get Low” with Zedd and “Familiar” with J Balvin, Payne unveiled his first solo EP, Fast Time, in August 2018. His debut album, LP1, arrived in December 2019.
In 2021, Payne discussed his substance-use issues on the Diary of a CEO podcast, revealing his struggle with depression and addiction during the 1D years. However, in May 2023, the star revealed he had gone 100 days without alcohol. “Things are really, really good. I’m sober now over 100 days. I feel amazing,” Payne said at the time “I feel really, really good, and support from the fans and everything has been really, really good. So, I’m super happy.”
Just a few months later, in August 2023, Payne posted to his social media accounts that he had been hospitalized with a “serious kidney infection” and was postponing his South African tour dates. He was released from the hospital a few weeks later.
In March 2024, Payne released his first new music in three years, a single titled “Teardrops,” which was written alongside *NSYNC member JC Chasez. Just weeks prior to his death, on Oct. 2, the star was seen attending his fellow 1D member Niall Horan’s show at Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires, where he greeted fans from a box suite and sang along with them.
Payne has one child, a son named Bear Grey, whom he welcomed with singer Cheryl Cole in March 2017.
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