Liam Payne according to authorities, the former member of One Direction, died in Argentina at the age of 31 after falling from the third storey of a Buenos Aires hotel where he had one to visit his old friend and band mate Niall Horan.
According to a police statement, Payne’s body was found after an emergency crew responded to a call in the posh Palermo area on Wednesday.
Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, and Zayn Malik formed the popular boyband on the 2010 season of X Factor, which brought them international recognition.
Payne had gone to his old bandmate Niall Horan’s gig in Argentina earlier this month.
Officers at the location were first responding to allegations “of an aggressive man who may have been under the effects of drugs and alcohol,” according to Buenos Aires police.
Officials were informed that a loud noise had been heard in an interior garden when they arrived at the hotel. They found the body there shortly after. The cops have opened an investigation.
Alberto Crescenti, the director of emergency medical services, told local media that Payne had “serious injuries” and that an autopsy will be performed.
Mr. Crescenti refused to comment when asked about Payne’s fall from the balcony.
Regarding “reports of the death of a British man,” the UK Foreign Office acknowledged that it was in communication with Argentinean authorities. No other information was provided.
Just hours before the event, Payne seems to post on Snapchat, writing, “It’s a lovely day here in Argentina.”
Following the announcement of his passing, admirers gathered outside the hotel in Buenos Aires where the incident occurred, forcing authorities to barricade the entry. Candles were lit in his honour.
According to Violeta Antier, a young fan, “I was in my living room and my sister told me Liam died,” she told the news agency Reuters. “We were incredulous. We came right here to make sure it was accurate.
Just two weeks earlier, Ms. Antier claimed to have seen Payne at the Niall Horan event.
Another woman broke down in tears as she told Reuters in Spanish why she had come to the hotel: “This is the only way I have to say goodbye to him.”
Online tributes have also been flooding in.
Boyband The Wanted’s Max George called Payne’s passing “absolutely devastating” and claimed to have met him while he was competing with One Direction on The X Factor.
“Over the last few years I had the pleasure of getting to know him personally and spent some treasured time with him,” he said to Instagram.
When his bandmate Tom Parker became ill with a brain tumour, George stated Payne had been “wonderful” in helping him.
Payne was there at the funeral for Parker, who passed away in 2022 at the age of 33.
“Lost for words” is how singer Olly Murs, who competed on The X Factor a year before One Direction, described being.
“Liam shared the same passions as me, the same dreams so to see his life now end so young hits hard, I’m truly gutted and devastated for his family and of course his son Bear losing a dad,” he posted to Instagram.
Presenter Dermot O’Leary posted on Instagram that he had pleasant memories of Payne.
He posted a photo of the two and commented, “I remember him as a 14-year-old turning up to audition on the X factor and blowing us away singing Sinatra.”
“He was always a joy, had time for everyone, polite, grateful and was always humble.”
“Sending love and condolences to his family [and] loved ones,” Paris Hilton, a socialite, posted on X after Twitter. “RIP my friend.”
Born in Wolverhampton, UK, Payne made his first attempt at popularity in 2008 when he tried out for the ITV talent show The X Factor. However, judge Simon Cowell urged him to “come back in two years.”
He did, and in 2010 he impressed the judges even more. At the boot camp stage, he was paired with four other solo contestants, and One Direction was founded.
Before announcing their break in 2015, the trio had four number one albums in the UK, four number one singles, and topped charts worldwide.
Payne’s first solo single, Strip That Down, peaked at number three on the Official UK Chart in 2017. He also co-wrote the song “For You” with Rita Ora, which was used on the soundtrack movie Fifty Shades Freed, and it also made it to the top 10.
In 2016, he started dating Cheryl Tweedy, star of Girls Aloud, and the two of them had a son, Bear, the following year. In 2018, the pair parted ways.
Another ex-partner, Maya Henry, told the media earlier this week via her solicitors that she had sent the singer a cease and desist letter.
She accused him of contacting her constantly in a social media post. Payne didn’t address the charges.