Former One Direction band member Liam Payne died on Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 31 years old.
Payne fell from a third-floor balcony at a hotel in Argentina. The sudden news of his tragic death has shocked the internet and fans.
According to ABC News, a hotel manager reportedly called the police stating that Payne was in a state of aggression and may be under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. He fell from the balcony shortly after emergency personnel arrived at the hotel.
Liam Payne was a bandmember of the hit boy band, One Direction. His bandmates have stated they are “completely devastated” by his death.
Payne spent years in One Direction with his bandmates Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, and they released five albums. They were one of the best-selling boy bands of the 21st century thus far. One Direction was almost every teenage girl’s favorite band in the early to mid 2010’s.
After Malik left the band in 2015, Payne took over most of his vocals in the songs and was credited for co-writing half of the songs on their third and fourth studio albums.
Having a talent in music, Payne worked with other artists as a producer after the band split in 2015. He also continued releasing music as a solo artist. His biggest hit was “Strip That Down,” which features Quavo. Payne released his first solo album in 2019 called “LP1.”
Following his death, his bandmates released a joint statement as well as individual statements paying respect to Payne on Instagram.Simon Cowell, X Factor judge who originally put the band together, also shared a heartfelt message on Instagram. Fans started to gather outside the hotel where Payne died to make a memorial site with pictures of him, candles and flowers. His father, Geoff Payne, joined fans and read a tribute.
There is a line in “Spaces” by One Direction that goes, “Leaving us speechless and I don’t know why / Who’s gonna be the first to say goodbye?”
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