Liam Payne, former One Direction member, dead at 31
CNN
By Dan Heching, Manuela Castro, Mauricio Torres and Alli Rosenbloom, CNN
(CNN) — Liam Payne, a former member of boyband One Direction, has died after falling from the window of a hotel in Buenos Aires, according to police there. He was 31.
Payne’s death occurred Wednesday at a hotel on Costa Rica Street in the Palermo neighborhood, according to a statement from police provided to CNN.
Buenos Aires police said that personnel from the 14B Police Station went to the hotel on Wednesday afternoon after receiving a 911 call about an aggressive man who was possibly under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The police’s statement did not identify that person as Payne.
Payne was seen in Argentina attending his former bandmate Niall Horan’s concert on October 2, according to videos posted to social media from the show.
He had recently celebrated his 31st birthday in the UK, according to videos posted to his Snapchat. Payne was born in Wolverhampton, West Midlands and is the youngest of three. He is an alum of the City of Wolverhampton College, where he studied music technology.
Payne was best known as a member of the famed British boyband One Direction. The band, which also included Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Horan, first formed in 2010 after each member appeared on the UK version of reality competition show “The X Factor.”
CNN has reached out to representatives for Payne as well as his former One Direction bandmates for comment.
“I do love being on stage,” Payne said of performing and songwriting with the group in a 2015 interview with Entertainment Weekly. He said he was most proud of co-writing their song, “What a Feeling.”
“That was a big one that me and Louis sat and wrote together,” Payne recalled. “It just kinda came together. It was inspired by a Fleetwood Mac sound. It’s just a nice driving jam — imagine driving down the coast.”
One Direction announced they were taking a hiatus in 2015. Payne later released his debut solo album in 2019 titled “LP1.” In May 2023, Payne announced that he was working on a new album that he was “really excited” about, and shared that he was planning a tour.
He had been open about past struggles with substance abuse and talked about completing treatment and being six months sober in the summer of 2023.
The tour was set to kick off in South America in September that same year, but Payne had to postpone the scheduled dates after suffering a kidney infection.
In March of this year, Payne released the song “Teardrops.”
Payne had a son, born in 2017, who he shared with former Girls Aloud singing group member Cheryl Cole.
In a video shared on YouTube in 2023, Payne talked about the love and affection he felt for his son, Bear.
“He’s awesome. He’s growing up far too quickly,” Payne shared at the time. “He’s far more smart than I think I’ll ever be. He’s a wonder.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
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