One Direction speaks out following the death of Liam Payne
One Direction members Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik are paying tribute to their friend and bandmate Liam Payne who died Oct. 16 at the age of 31.
Medical officials confirmed in a statement to Telemundo that the singer was found dead after falling from the third floor of a Buenos Aires, Argentina, hotel. Following news of his death, condolences poured in from loyal fans of One Direction, known as Directioners, and from Payne’s band members.
In a joint statement posted on Oct. 17, the four members said they were “completely devastated” by their longtime friend’s death.
“We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing. In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly.”
“The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever,” the statement added. “For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us. We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam.”
The message is signed, “Louis, Zayn, Niall and Harry.”
One Direction was formed in 2010 on the UK singing competition series “The X Factor.” The five boys, who were all teenagers at the time, auditioned as solo artists before judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Nicole Scherzinger decided to put them together into a group.
The boys became close friends during the experience, releasing video diaries for fans each week about their time on the show. They came in third place and went on to become one of the most successful boy bands in the world. They released four albums together before Malik departed from the group in March 2015.
One Direction released their fifth and final album, “Made in the A.M.”, before going on an indefinite hiatus. Since then, each member has released solo music. Payne’s EP, “First Time,” arrived in 2018 and he followed it with his debut album, “LP1” in 2019.
His last single, “Teardrops,” was co-written by ‘N Sync’s JC Chasez and was released in March.
The One Direction members ran into each other throughout the years after their split. Most recently, Payne attended Horan’s Oct. 2 concert in Buenos Aires. The late singer shared two selfies he took with Horan backstage to his Snapchat Stories. He also uploaded videos of him singing along to Horan’s music and One Direction songs during the concert.
In August, Netflix announced that Payne would serve as a judge alongside Kelly Rowland and Scherzinger for a new singing competition show called “Building the Band.” Backstreet Boys member AJ McLean was set to host.
