Liam Payne, a former member of One Direction, is dead at the age of 31 after falling from the third floor of his hotel room in Argentina.
The hugely popular boy band was originally created by Simon Cowell and consisted of Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, and Liam Payne. The group became one of the highest-selling boy bands of all time, selling over 70 million records worldwide. They embarked on massive world tours, selling out stadiums and winning hundreds of awards. The late Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) directed the group’s first concert film, One Direction: This Is Us. The 3D concert documentary was released in 2013 and became a huge success. It’s still one of the highest-grossing concert films of all time, standing behind concert films by Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, and Taylor Swift.
Following Malik’s departure in 2015, the group continued as a foursome for another year before they decided to go on indefinite hiatus. Each member embarked on their own solo career, including Payne. He released LP1 in 2019, which included singles such as Strip That Down, Get Low, and Bedroom Floor.
According to La Nación, police were called after the manager of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires City informed them of “an aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.” Other reports from TMZ state that Payne had been acting erratically earlier, smashing his laptop and having to be carried back to his room. “We were alerted about a person who was in an internal courtyard of Casa Sur Hotel. [First responders] arrived and confirmed the man’s death. We later learned that he was a singer in a musical group. Unfortunately, he had injuries incompatible with life as a result of his fall, so we had to confirm his death. There was no possibility of resuscitation,” said Alberto Crescenti, head of the state emergency medical system.
Liam Payne shares a seven-year-old son with Cheryl Cole, who actually judged Payne’s first appearance in the fifth season of The X Factor in 2008. The pair dated from 2016-2018. Some very sad news; 31 is far too young. Our thoughts go out to Payne’s family and friends.