(From L-R) Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock and Liam Payne.
Credit: Instagram/@liampayne
Liam Payne, who rose to fame as a singer and songwriter for British group 'One Direction', one of the bestselling boy bands of all time, died after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Wednesday. He was 31.
His death was confirmed by Alberto Crescenti, director of emergency services in Buenos Aires.
Payne's last Instagram post was 20 weeks ago, when he posted a photo of himself with all the band members- Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, who died in late May. Spurlock directed and produced the 2013 musical documentary on the band, called One Direction: This Is Us.
The band was brought together by Simon Cowell, the sharp-tongued English television personality and music executive — best known to American audiences from his time on “American Idol” — who tailored the group’s sound and songs to appeal to teenage girls.
Payne was one of the group’s standout singers, though 'One Direction' as a whole underscored affability and casualness. He had several songwriting credits across the group’s releases.
'One Direction' went on a hiatus in January 2016 after Zayn Malik left the band in 2015. Since then, Payne had been making music one his own, with his latest single Teardrops having launched in March this year.
While his former bandmates haven't reacted yet, condolences have started pouring in from around the world for the British singer.
"So upsetting to hear the news of @LiamPayne passing. Sending love and condolences to his family & loved ones. RIP my friend," reality star and businesswoman Paris Hilton wrote on X.
Musician Zedd wrote on X, " RIP Liam… I can’t believe this is real…absolutely heartbreaking …", before adding another post, saying " Life is short and fragile… You never know what people are going through. We live in times where being rude, divisive and mean is normal; sometimes even celebrated. It doesn’t have to be this way. We should do our best to be kind, supportive and mindful."
(With International New York Times inputs)