Fans around the world expressed their emotion Thursday after the death at 31 of British singer Liam Payne, former member of the boy band One Direction, who fell from the balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires on Wednesday.
“We are heartbroken. Liam will forever live in our hearts, and we will remember him for his kindness, his humor and his courage,” his family responded in a statement, asking for “privacy and space in this terrible time.”
An Argentinian police source told AFP on Thursday that the singer “died as a result of the fall” from the third floor of his hotel, located in the Palermo district, the preliminary autopsy establishing that Liam Payne suffered “a hemorrhage internal and external.
On Wednesday, Argentine police said they responded to an emergency call “reporting an aggressive man who may have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”
A few minutes after the announcement of the singer’s death, many fans converged on the “Casa Sur” hotel, singing the hits of the British boy band in chorus.
“I feel like it’s a part of my adolescence that’s been lost,” Lena Duek, 21, told AFP.
Thursday morning, several dozen journalists immortalized flowers, candles and messages left since Wednesday evening, AFP noted.
“You will always be in our hearts” (in English), “You have always accompanied me and you will continue. Just thank you!”, “Liam you make me strong. Thank you for everything!”, said some of the messages scribbled on a sidewalk or taped to the trunk of a tree.
“One Direction was one of the biggest groups in history, and their music had a huge impact on millions of fans,” responded a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who presented his “sincere condolences” to the artist’s loved ones.
Liam Payne was, along with Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Harry Styles, one of the members of the boy band formed in 2010 and which enjoyed dazzling success.
According to Billboard magazine, the singer attended a Niall Horan concert on October 2 in Buenos Aires.
– Alcohol problems –
Emergency services were called on Wednesday at 5:04 p.m. local time (8:04 p.m. GMT) and a medical team arrived seven minutes later but could only “note the death” of the singer.
According to the head of emergency, Liam Payne had “very serious injuries following his fall”. “We noted the death, there was no possibility of resuscitation,” he told local television.
An investigation into the causes of death has been opened.
One Direction was a product of the television show “The X Factor”, which went on to become one of the most lucrative boy bands in the world.
“I remember him, then a 14-year-old boy, turning up for The X Factor audition and blowing us away by singing Sinatra,” the show’s host, Dermot O’Leary, wrote on Instagram.
The fairly smooth and light pop group released their fifth and final studio album, “Made in the AM”, in 2016.
The announcement in 2016 of a break in the group’s career, never formalized as a separation, upset millions of fans.
With less success than Harry Styles or Zayn Malik, Liam Payne then launched a solo career. Her debut album, “LP1”, was released in 2019, and her single “Strip that Down” reached number three in the UK charts.
Born on August 29, 1993 in Wolverhampton, Liam Payne openly spoke about his difficult relationship with fame and his problems with alcoholism which, as he revealed in 2023, had led him to a rehab center.
“I think it would be wise for record companies to have the contacts of psychologists (…) to take care of young talents who are often vulnerable. Fame can do a lot of damage,” commented on X Mikey Graham, the one of the members of the Irish boy band Boyzone.
Last year, Liam Payne announced that he was working on a second album, and had just released a new single in March 2024.
