What is known about the death of Liam Payne, former member of the band One Direction

Liam Payne, former member of the British band One Direction, died after falling from the third floor of a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Police said they were called to the scene following reports of an “aggressive man who may have been under the influence of drugs and alcohol.” Payne fell from the balcony after officers arrived, the statement added.

Fans gathered outside the hotel to mourn the 31-year-old singer’s death. They lit candles, sang One Direction songs and observed minutes of silence.

Payne, born in Wolverhampton, UK, achieved global fame when the band One Direction was formed during the television show The X Factor in 2010.

The group quickly became the biggest boy band in the world, but went on hiatus starting in 2016. Payne released a single solo album in 2019.

What is known about Liam Payne’s death so far

Warning: Some readers may find the information detailed below disturbing.

Argentine police reported that an emergency call raised an alert about “an aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs and alcohol” at the Casa Sur hotel, where Payne was staying in Buenos Aires.

The AFP news agency reports that the emergency call came from a hotel manager at around 5 pm local time on Wednesday (16). He reported that a guest was “drugged and trashing the room.”

The manager reportedly reported that the guest was in a room with a balcony and there was fear that “he could do something that would put his life at risk.”

Shortly after police arrived at the scene, a loud sound was heard in the hotel’s inner courtyard, where officers later found Payne’s body.

The head of Buenos Aires’ emergency medical service told local media that Payne was taken to hospital but suffered “very serious” injuries as a result of the fall and there was “no possibility of resuscitation”.

An investigation is ongoing. The UK Foreign Office said it is in contact with Argentine authorities.

In Snapchat posts made over the past few days, Payne talked about riding horses, playing polo and watching his former bandmate Niall Horan perform live in Buenos Aires.

Videos he shared from the show, held on October 2, show him dancing with girlfriend Kate Cassidy, waving to fans in the crowd and singing along to old One Direction hits.

He posted a selfie with Horan and talked about how proud he was of his friend and singer.

Who was Liam Payne

Liam Payne first tried to achieve stardom when he auditioned for British show The X Factor in 2008. However, judge Simon Cowell asked him to return to performing “in two years”.

And Payne did just that. In 2010, he impressed the judges and was selected alongside four other hopefuls: Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles.

This is how One Direction was born. The band did not win the talent show, but quickly achieved great success on the music charts. They have released four albums that have reached number one in the UK and other countries.

One Direction was one of the biggest groups of the 2010s, said BBC music correspondent Mark Savage to Radio 5 Live.

The group sold 70 million records – and songs that everyone knows, such as “What Makes You Beautiful”, “Story of My Life” and “Best Song Ever” dominated the radio.

About five years after formation, the band decided to split up.

“Liam was a fundamental part of that band. He helped write a lot of the songs and, of course, had a very successful solo career after the breakup,” said Savage.

Solo career

In 2017, Payne released the first song of his solo career, “Strip That Down”. The song peaked at number three in the UK charts.

Meanwhile, his collaboration with Rita Ora on the song “For You”, from the soundtrack of the film “Fifty Shades Freed”, also reached the top 10. Payne had an enormous talent for songwriting.

When he launched his solo career, he took the opportunity to collaborate with some of the pop world’s biggest songwriters, including Ed Sheeran, Charlie Puth and OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder.

“Writing for One Direction was a different process because I knew what young people wanted,” he said in an interview with the BBC.

“I love these songs, don’t get me wrong, but I knew why I was writing them and what I was writing them for,” he added.

In his own productions, Payne sang about topics such as depression, sex and breakups.

He and Girls Aloud star Cheryl Tweedy began dating in 2016 and had a son, Bear. The couple separated in 2018.

In a 2019 interview, he told the BBC about his struggle with alcohol. “It was very erratic behavior on my part, I was partying too much.”

At the time, he added that the family was “very worried.” In recent years, Payne has had some health issues and was reportedly hospitalized twice last year with kidney problems.

In 2024, he released new music, but album and documentary projects were on hold.

This text was originally published here.