Former One Direction member Liam Payne has died at the age of 31

Former One Direction member Liam Payne has died. He fell from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires at 5 p.m. local time on Wednesday. This was announced by the police in the Argentine capital. Payne was 31 years old.

Payne was part of the boy band One Direction, which emerged from the TV show “The X Factor” in 2010. In Argentina, Payne attended, among other things, a former bandmate’s concert at the beginning of October.

Alberto Crescenti, head of the state emergency organization, said on Argentine television that Payne had sustained life-threatening injuries as a result of the fall. “We no longer had the opportunity to do anything,” he said. The singer was identified using his passport. The authorities have opened an investigation into the circumstances of Payne’s death. An autopsy will be carried out.

According to Buenos Aires police, they were called to the hotel because there were reports of “an aggressive man who may be under the influence of drugs and alcohol.” There was initially no information as to whether this man was Payne.

World fame as a teenager

Liam Payne was born in Wolverhampton, England in 1993. He first came into the limelight at the age of 14. He took part in the musical talent show “The X Factor”. Although he impressed with his performance, head judge and music producer Simon Cowell thought he was still too inexperienced. He should come back in two years, he told Payne.

Two years later, Payne was back on “The X Factor” – and impressed. But there were many other good participants. Therefore, the jury decided to put five boys together into a boy band in order to enable them all to advance. One Direction was born. In addition to Payne, the group included Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles.

One Direction did not win the season of “The X Factor”. But producer Cowell still signed the group after the show. Soon they were more successful than their rivals. Her first single, “What Makes You Beautiful,” went straight to number one in the British charts.

One Direction – actually a latecomer in the boy band format – became a pop sensation. One Direction filled stadiums with screaming teenagers, and the hotels they stayed in were besieged by thousands of fans. More than 70 million One Direction records have been sold.

Dealing with the sudden notoriety was difficult for Payne. In 2019 he told the BBC: “I was very confused about fame when it all happened.” It was very difficult to lead a normal life outside of work. «But now I feel like I understand it. I’m a lucky guy,” he said at the time.

Over time, Payne also discovered a talent for songwriting. About half of the songs on the band’s last two albums were written by him. These include songs like “History”, “Steal My Girl” and “Story Of My Life”.

In 2016, One Direction went on an indefinite hiatus. As Payne told the BBC in a 2022 podcast, there was a lot of trouble between the members at the time. “There was a moment when there was an argument backstage and one member pushed me against the wall,” he said, without giving a name. The group’s future was in jeopardy at every show.

Help to stay stable

Payne then launched a solo career. Unlike Harry Styles, however, he was unable to build on the great success of One Direction. His single, released in March 2024, failed to chart, and there have been media reports that another solo album and documentary have been halted.

Payne entered into a relationship with Cheryl Cole in 2016, who was then a judge on “The X Factor.” A year later they had a son, but in 2018 the relationship broke up.

Payne repeatedly spoke openly about mental health problems and his addictions. In 2019, he told the Guardian that at the height of One Direction’s success, he began taking alcohol and medication to balance out the “erratic ups and downs.” “I just needed a little help to keep myself stable,” he said.

Last year he said in an interview with IFL TV that he had been sober for more than three months. “I feel fantastic,” he said. “The support from the fans was really good, so I’m very happy.”

On Wednesday, before his death, Payne shared impressions of his trip to Argentina in a video on Snapchat, according to the Reuters news agency. He talked about horseback riding, playing polo, and the anticipation of the dog waiting for him at home. “It’s a beautiful day here in Argentina,” he said.