Liam Payne was a British singer and songwriter. He was best known for being a member of the boy band, One Direction. Payne sadly passed away on October 16, 2024, from a tragic fall from his hotel room balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Payne was born in Wolverhampton, England, on August 29, 1993. He has two older sisters, Nicola and Ruth. Until Payne was four years old, he was in and out of the hospital, having frequent tests. In the book Dare to Dream: Life As One Direction, Payne said “I was always in hospital having tests done but they couldn’t find out what was wrong. They discovered that one of my kidneys wasn’t working properly and it had scarred. I had to have 32 injections in my arm in the morning and evening to try and make me better.”
When Liam Payne was younger he was determined to become a star. Payne was just 14 years old the first time he auditioned for ‘The X Factor.’ Payne made it far in his first round but, during the Boot Camp stage, Simon Cowell decided that it was not Payne’s time and he encouraged him to return in two years.
Payne was determined to prove himself, so he returned for another audition two years later. All of the judges thought Payne was ready to become a star. Although he auditioned as a soloist, Cowell decided to put him in a band with Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Harry Styles. This band became known as One Direction.
Payne was very talented. He had perfect pitch at a very young age, an amazing stage presence, and a gift for songwriting. He was a co-writer on many of One Direction’s hits including ‘Steal My Girl’, ‘Story of My Life’, ‘Midnight Memories.’
One Direction had four number one albums on the Billboard Top 200. They were one of the best selling boy bands of all time and have sold over $70 million records worldwide. The band went on hiatus in 2016, and all the members pursued solo careers. Payne released his single, ‘Strip That Down’ in 2019. This song is the highest selling single from a One Direction member, with over 5 million copies sold. He went on to release his album LP1, and continue to make music over the years until his death.
In 2016, Payne started dating his X Factor Judge, Cheryl Cole. On March 22, 2017, they welcomed their son Bear Payne. But a year after Bear was born the couple decided to split. Payne loved to express the joy being a dad gave him. Payne told the US publication, “So, I like to give him those moments and it’s important, he needs that in his life, he needs his dad in his life, and I’m happy he looks at me like a superhero, and I’m hoping to keep it that way.”
Payne’s father, Geoff Payne arrived in Buenos Aires on October 18 alongside One Direction’s bodyguard Paul Higgins. They came to retrieve his son’s belongings and organize his return to the United Kingdom. Outside of the hotel were many fans and memorials the fans had created to honor Payne. Geoff had admired these memorials, read notes that fans wrote to his son, and even stopped to kiss some of the pictures of his son. Payne’s older sister Nicola came to social media to share her grief. She stated, “When I saw the news pop up on my phone that you had left us I went cold, I wanted so much for this to be untrue…We will make sure Bear knows how about his daddy and how much you loved him, we promise this”.
Payne had an impact on everyone he knew as well as fans all around the world.