Liam Payne

Liam James Payne (29 August 1993 – 16 October 2024) was an English singer and songwriter. He was a member of the pop band One Direction, one of the best-selling boy bands of all time, alongside Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. Payne twice appeared as a solo auditionee on the British television series The X Factor in 2008 and 2010; in the latter, he was invited to join One Direction alongside fellow contestants, placing third and later achieving global success.
Following One Direction's hiatus in 2016, Payne pursued a solo career, signing with Republic Records in North America. In 2017, he released his debut solo single "Strip That Down", which reached number three on the UK singles chart and number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song received multi-platinum certifications in both countries. The following year, he released "For You", a collaboration with Rita Ora which became a hit worldwide and received gold or platinum certifications in several countries. His solo studio album, LP1, was released in December 2019. During the first three years of his solo career, Payne sold over 18 million singles, 2.4 million albums, and amassed 3.9 billion streams. In addition to his solo work, Payne produced remixes under the pseudonyms Big Payno and Payno, remixing tracks for both his group and for singer Cheryl.
Payne struggled with substance abuse and mental illness throughout his career. On 16 October 2024, he died at the age of 31 after falling from a third-floor balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, while intoxicated. Following his death, Payne's track "Teardrops" debuted on the UK singles chart, alongside the re-entry of 11 of his other works. Five people were later charged in connection with his accidental death: two people for supplying him with narcotics, and three people for criminal negligence of a person who was a danger to himself.
Liam James Payne was born at New Cross Hospital in the Heath Town district of Wolverhampton on 29 August 1993, the son of infant nurse Karen Payne and fitter Geoff Payne. He had two older sisters named Nicola and Ruth. Payne was born three weeks premature and suffered frequent illnesses. Until the age of four, he had regular tests done in hospital as doctors noticed one of his kidneys was scarred and dysfunctional. In the book Dare to Dream: Life as One Direction, he mentioned that before he was four, "I was always in hospital having tests done but they couldn't find out what was wrong. They discovered that one of my kidneys wasn't working properly and it had scarred. I had to have 32 injections in my arm in the morning and evening to try and make me better."
As a student, Payne was heavily involved in sports, particularly cross-country running. Payne joined the Wolverhampton & Bilston Athletics Club to pursue his running career. For three years he was ranked in the top three 1500m runners in the country within his age group.
He began taking boxing lessons at the age of 12 amidst bullying from older students in secondary school. Payne completed 11 GCSEs at St Peter's Collegiate School (now St Peter's Collegiate Academy) before moving on to study music technology at City of Wolverhampton College. Payne was introduced to the world of show business at the age of 12, as a member of the Pink Productions Theatre Company, appearing as Tony Manero from Saturday Night Fever. Payne had previously performed in front of a crowd of 26,000 during a Wolverhampton Wanderers football match.
Payne auditioned for the fifth series of The X Factor in 2008, at 14 years old, in front of judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh. Payne moved past the first round after performing Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon". He was cut at the boot camp stage, but Cowell then changed his mind and asked Payne to return for the judges' houses stage. Payne was cut again during judges' houses, but was encouraged by Cowell to "come back in two years".
Payne returned to the show in 2010 for the seventh series, auditioning in front of Cowell, Cole, Walsh and guest judge Natalie Imbruglia. He sang the Michael Bublé version of "Cry Me a River". He advanced but failed to progress to the "Boys" category at judges' houses. During the boot camp stage of the competition, Payne, along with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik, were put together to form a five-piece boy band called One Direction, to compete in the "Groups" category. The group came in third place on the show.
In January 2011, One Direction were signed to Simon Cowell's Syco Entertainment. Their UK number one debut single, "What Makes You Beautiful", and their debut studio album, Up All Night, were released later that year. The album, which contained three songs co-written by Payne, debuted at number one in the United States. All of their next four studio albums—Take Me Home (2012), Midnight Memories (2013), Four (2014) and Made in the A.M. (2015)—debuted at number one in the UK. Midnight Memories was the world's best-selling album of 2013, and its accompanying Where We Are Tour was the highest-grossing tour of 2014. After the release of Four, One Direction became the only group in the 58-year history of the Billboard 200 albums chart to have their first four albums debut at number one. The albums spawned a string of successful singles, including "Live While We're Young", "Little Things", "Best Song Ever", "Story of My Life", "Drag Me Down" and "History". Following the departure of Zayn Malik in March 2015, Payne was tasked with taking over the bulk of Malik's vocals.
Payne was credited for co-writing more than half of the songs on One Direction's third and fourth albums. Together with Louis Tomlinson, Payne was also the band's top earner. In 2014, Payne began working as a producer under the monikers "Big Payno" or "Payno", teaming up with fellow producers AfterHrs to remix several tracks including Cheryl's "I Don't Care" in 2014. Payne was also credited with co-writing Cole's "I Won't Break", off her album Only Human. In August 2014, Payne created and became director of Hampton Music Limited, a publishing company under which his solo projects appeared. Payne served as one of the directors for the production company One Mode Productions Limited. In 2015, Payne co-wrote the Irish band Hometown's single "The Night We Met".
One Direction went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016, after completing promotional activities related to Made in the A.M. Since their debut, One Direction have sold 70 million records worldwide, including 7.6 million albums and 26 million singles in the US, becoming one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. The group amassed numerous accolades, including seven Brit Awards, seven American Music Awards, six Billboard Music Awards, and four MTV Video Music Awards.
In 2015, Payne began working on solo material. In early 2016, Payne featured on a track titled "You" by Wiz Khalifa and Juicy J; the track was a leak from an unreleased mixtape. In October 2016, it was announced that Payne had signed a recording contract with Republic Records. His debut solo single "Strip That Down", featuring Quavo and co-written with Ed Sheeran and Steve Mac, was released on 19 May 2017. The song was a commercial success, reaching number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the UK Singles Chart. "Strip That Down" was certified double platinum in the United Kingdom and 3× platinum in the United States. Payne followed up this release with two UK top 30 singles: "Get Low", a collaboration with Zedd which was certified silver, and "Bedroom Floor", which was certified gold.
In January 2018, Payne collaborated with Rita Ora on "For You", released as a single from the soundtrack of the film Fifty Shades Freed. The song was a commercial success worldwide, peaking within the top ten of several countries. "For You" was certified diamond in Brazil, platinum in the United Kingdom, and received gold or platinum certifications in thirteen further countries. In April 2018, Payne released "Familiar" with J Balvin, which peaked at number 14 in the United Kingdom and was certified platinum. On 30 March 2018, Payne performed in front of more than 100,000 people during a free concert at Global Village 2018 in Dubai. Payne initially announced that his debut album would be released on 14 September 2018, but he delayed the release to continue work on it. Instead, he released his first extended play, First Time, on 24 August 2018. The EP's sole single was "First Time", a collaboration with French Montana. He collaborated with Jonas Blue and Lennon Stella on the single "Polaroid", released on 5 October 2018. The single peaked at number 12 in the United Kingdom and was certified platinum.
Payne released the song "Stack It Up", featuring American rapper A Boogie wit da Hoodie, on 18 September 2019. In October 2019, Payne announced that his debut album, LP1, would be released on 6 December 2019. Several of Payne's previous single releases were included on the album's track list, and Payne released "All I Want (For Christmas)" on 25 October as the sixth single from the album. LP1 debuted at number 17 on the UK Albums Chart and number 111 on the Billboard 200. The album was certified gold in the United Kingdom and platinum in Canada.
In April 2020, Payne began a weekly YouTube series. In July, he announced he would be launching The LP Show, a livestream series, with "Act 1" being a live-streamed concert. On 9 October 2020, Payne released Midnight Hour, a collaborative EP with producer Alesso. It was preceded by the single "Midnight", released that April. On 30 October 2020, Payne released "Naughty List", a Christmas single featuring Dixie D'Amelio. In August 2021, Payne released the single "Sunshine", which was featured in the film Ron's Gone Wrong.
In May 2023, Payne announced that he was working on his second album. He planned his first solo tour, with dates for Latin America scheduled to take place in September 2023, but the tour was postponed after Payne was hospitalised in August 2023 with a kidney infection. Payne returned to music with the single "Teardrops", which was released on 1 March 2024. The single was co-written with NSYNC member JC Chasez. "Teardrops" did not chart upon release, but debuted at number 85 on the UK Singles Chart following his death in October 2024.
On 28 October 2024, Sam Pounds announced that Payne would be the featured artist on his single "Do No Wrong", to be released on 1 November 2024. However, a day later, he delayed the single, as he felt that it was not yet time.
On One Direction's later three albums, especially Four, Payne became a "prolific co-writer" with over 30 credits total, second only to Louis Tomlinson, with whom he frequently collaborated. Where Tomlinson was known for his lyricism, Payne had a penchant for coming up with melodies. He told Entertainment Weekly in 2015 that the two tracks he was most proud of were "Better Than Words" and "What a Feeling". The former is composed of titles from other songs, while he and Tomlinson wrote the latter inspired by Fleetwood Mac.
Payne was a pop and R&B singer who explored other genres, including electronic music. He cited Chris Brown, Pharrell Williams, Justin Timberlake, and Usher as being major musical influences. Payne said, "The person who has inspired me most is Pharrell Williams who I worked with a while back. I got talking to his producer recently and asked him what Pharrell was like when he was younger, and he said to me that when he was my age he couldn't press a note on a keyboard. And that was amazing to me because at 22 I thought I was too old to learn guitar." His first exposure to rock music was through Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory with "In the End", as they were the gateway for him to listen to other types of music outside of what he would typically listen to as a child. Payne would label "In the End" as one of the most important songs of his life.
Payne was named the first global brand ambassador for German brand Hugo Boss in May 2019. The first Hugo x Liam Payne capsule collection was revealed during Berlin Fashion Week in July 2020. His second capsule collection with Hugo Boss was launched in May 2020. The collection, which mainly consists of men's wardrobes, includes polo shirts, T-shirts, shorts, hoodies, sweatpants and a pair of sneakers. In January 2020, Payne starred in the Hugo Boss fragrance campaign for their perfume Hugo Now.
In June 2021, Payne launched a non-fungible token (NFT) digital artwork collection, entitled "Lonely Bug". On 25 January 2022, he dedicated a separate Twitter account @PaynoETH solely to cover the subject.
As a member of One Direction, Payne supported many charities. The band supported BBC's Children in Need fundraising efforts. The band also supported Comic Relief, notably raising over £2 million for the charity in 2013, in part through the release of a charity single "One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)" and films of the band's trip to Ghana, where the group volunteered at a children's hospital. Payne, along with the rest of One Direction, partnered with Action/2015 in order to launch the "Action 1D" campaign to raise awareness of global issues.
Payne was an avid supporter of UNICEF and teamed up with tennis star Andy Murray, Jack Whitehall and Clare Balding in support of UNICEF UK's Children in Danger Summer Disease Appeal. Payne teamed up with motorsport star Eddie Jordan in support of UK based charity CLIC Sargent. Payne was an ambassador for the youth cancer charity Trekstock, along with bandmate Harry Styles. Payne's original campaign with the organisation in 2013 raised $784,198. He raised an additional $211,237 during his campaign in 2015. Payne was also named an ambassador of Sustainable Development Goals also known as the Global Goals campaign. In 2015, Payne helped to promote a £6 million youth project "The Youth Zone" in his hometown of Wolverhampton.
Payne co-hosted a charity ball in honour of Believe in Magic, an organisation that supported terminally ill children, with bandmate Louis Tomlinson. Tomlinson donated £50,000 for Payne's face to be painted. Collectively Payne and Tomlinson donated over £5 million at the event. In 2018, Payne and Tomlinson filmed an episode of Gogglebox in support for Stand Up to Cancer.
Payne was an advocate for food security. Beginning in the spring of 2020 he became a donor to the Trussell Trust and its network of UK food banks, funding more than 360,000 meals during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said, "I'm glad to be playing my small part as we work towards a future in which nobody needs a food bank." Payne donated £80,000 and volunteered to help out in person at Euston Food Bank and Food for All in Holborn, which was not revealed until after his death. Food for All director Pete O'Grady said Payne "didn't want anyone to make a thing about it. He let nobody know of his generosity".
Payne participated in UNICEF's Soccer Aid. In 2022, he captained the English team, and returned for the 2023 event. Payne donated thousands of pounds to various GoFundMe pages in the month prior to his death. In a Snapchat video uploaded at the time he explained, "I've been going on night by night by night, trying to finish off people's donations so that they can get the operations they need."
Liam Payne started dating Danielle Peazer, a dancer on The X Factor, when he was 17 and she was 22 in 2010. The couple broke up in 2013. From 2013 to 2015, he dated childhood friend Sophia Smith. In late 2015, he started dating singer Cheryl, whom he first met when he was 14 years old at his first X Factor audition, where she was a judge. The pair would meet again when Payne reapplied for the show at 16, where 26-year-old Cheryl was again a judge. They had one son who was born on 22 March 2017. Their relationship ended in 2018.
Payne began dating model Maya Henry in 2019; they became engaged in August 2020. By June 2021, Payne and Henry had separated. The couple reunited that year and were again engaged. In May 2022, the couple ended their engagement for a second time. From October 2022 until his death on 16 October 2024, he had been in a relationship with influencer Kate Cassidy.
Payne's net worth was estimated at £47 million in 2020. Payne owned homes in Malibu, California, and Surrey, but listed them for sale in early 2020 and 2021, respectively. In 2020, he moved to Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire to be near his son, having previously lived with Cheryl in nearby Chalfont St Peter.
Payne was a supporter of the football team West Bromwich Albion.
Payne was pro-choice. In May 2019, amidst anti-abortion legislation passed in Alabama, he said that they were "completely taking away the rights of women and the ownership of the bodies that belong to them" and that "... men never have to go through that so how can we even comment or decide what women should or shouldn't go through." He added "here was me thinking it was supposed to be the land of the free (and) it all looks very tied up from where I'm standing". In May 2020, Payne expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement and encouraged fans to educate themselves and donate. He attended London Black Lives Matter protests.
Payne had spoken about his struggles with alcoholism since the peak of One Direction's success. More specifically, he mentioned being locked in hotel rooms with a mini-bar between gigs. In May 2023, Payne mentioned being sober for over three months. That July, he shared a video expanding on this, and he discussed spending 100 days in a rehab facility in Louisiana. In August 2023, Payne was hospitalised with a kidney infection.
On 1 June 2022, he was intoxicated while being interviewed by Logan Paul for his podcast series. Payne said that One Direction originated with a promise that Simon Cowell had made to him; Payne had previously appeared on the show, and Cowell purportedly pledged to "make it work" should he return. He also discussed former fellow member Zayn Malik's family life and said: "There's many reasons why I dislike Zayn and there's many reasons why I'll always, always be on his side". He later clarified his remarks on Malik and apologised.
In early October 2024, Payne and his girlfriend Kate Cassidy travelled to Argentina to renew his United States O visa at the US embassy in Buenos Aires and to attend Horan's The Show: Live on Tour concert at the city's Movistar Arena. He had posted about his intention to travel to Argentina in videos to his Snapchat account. Cassidy returned to her home in Florida on 14 October, with Payne staying in Argentina. A fan told reporters that Payne had approached them on 16 October and had appeared sober and discussed with them at length his time in Buenos Aires and his appreciation of the area. Shortly before his death, he told another fan staying at the same hotel that "I used to be in a boyband, that's why I'm so fucked up."
Later that day, Payne died after falling from a third-floor balcony at the CasaSur hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. Police went to the hotel following an emergency call from the hotel manager, who reported "an aggressive man who could be under the effects of drugs and alcohol". The manager indicated in the call that "when he is conscious he is destroying the entire room and we need you to send someone", noting that the man's life was at risk due to the room having a balcony. Payne fell from the balcony shortly after emergency services arrived. His death was confirmed at 5:11 p.m. Argentina Time (UTC−03:00). The emergency medical team that arrived at the hotel reported a "cranial fracture and extremely serious injuries" that led to Payne's immediate death.
Alberto Crescenti, the director of Buenos Aires' public emergency medical service, announced Payne's death on the Argentine news channel TN, saying that the fall was from a height of approximately 13 to 14 metres (43 to 46 ft) and that Payne sustained "very serious injuries incompatible with life" leaving "no possibility of resuscitation". Crescenti declined to comment on whether the death was a suicide or an accident. Pablo Policicchio, communications director for the Buenos Aires Security Ministry, stated that Payne "had jumped from the balcony of his room". The office did not respond to follow-up questions regarding the claim and directed the reporters to the prosecutor's office. The forensic experts later reported that Payne "did not adopt a reflexive posture to protect himself" and that he "could have fallen in a state of semi or total unconsciousness". According to Argentine journalist Paula Varela, citing unreleased CCTV footage, Payne accidentally fell to his death after fainting on the balcony.
Payne's body was initially interred at the Cementerio Británico in Buenos Aires before being repatriated by air to the United Kingdom on 6 November. His funeral was held on 20 November at Saint Mary's Church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire.
Authorities opened an investigation into Payne's death and conducted a post-mortem. Police said that several medications and energy supplements were found in his room, including clonazepam, and that a whiskey bottle was found in the courtyard where his body was recovered. Initial post-mortem examination indicated that Payne died from internal and external haemorrhages and multiple traumatic injuries. The forensic experts reported 25 injuries caused by the fall and said that Payne's traumatic brain injuries were "enough to cause death", with bleeding in his head and upper body contributing to his death. The examination found no signs of a fight and noted that Payne was alone in the room at the time of his death.
The media incorrectly reported that Payne had "multiple substances" in his system when he died, including pink cocaine, crack cocaine, and benzodiazepine. However, on 22 October, Argentina's public prosecutor's office clarified that the toxicology report was not yet complete and denied that any details had been disclosed. On the night of 23 October, a week after Payne's fall, Buenos Aires police raided the CasaSur Hotel, seeking documents and other information. A government official revealed police had seized items such as computers. Authorities requested the hotel hand over camera footage. On 7 November, prosecutors said that post-mortem toxicological exams on Payne showed "traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescribed antidepressant" prior to his death. That same day, Argentine police charged three people with "abandonment of a person followed by death" and "supplying and facilitating the use of narcotics" over Payne's death. The suspects were identified as: a companion of Payne; a hotel employee who provided cocaine to Payne while he was at the hotel; and a drug dealer. On January 8 2025, Payne’s cause of death was confirmed in a UK inquest opening as polytrauma.
On 30 December 2024, an Argentinean judge charged five people in connection with Payne's death. Two people, a waiter who met with Payne in a local restaurant and an employee of the hotel where Payne stayed at the time of his death, were charged with supplying Payne with the drugs he took shortly before his death and were ordered to be held in pre-trial detention at a preventive prison. Three others, a businessman who was with Payne in Argentina and two managers of the hotel, were charged with manslaughter.
Payne's family released a statement shortly after his death, stating that they were heartbroken and that Payne would live forever in their hearts, and asking for privacy as they supported each other. Payne's father Geoff and One Direction's former head of security Paul Higgins arrived in Buenos Aires on 18 October. His former partner Cheryl issued a public request for consideration and dignity, fearing their son could potentially access "the abhorrent reports and media exploitation" around his father's death later in life. Payne's One Direction bandmates Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson released a joint statement asking for time to speak more on his death and that they were grieving and processing it, with individual statements of respect coming from each member and Styles' mother. Malik later announced that he would be postponing the US leg of his Stairway to the Sky Tour following news of Payne's death.
Musicians across the world paid tribute to Payne. A number of public figures, including Sharon Osbourne, Rebecca Ferguson, and Bruce Springsteen, raised concerns about the music industry, media, and adolescent fame in their commemorations. Musician Robbie Williams, relating Payne's struggles to his own, made a plea for compassion, saying, "We don't know what's going on in people's lives". Filming of auditions for series 18 of Britain's Got Talent, a show produced by Cowell, was suspended out of respect; production resumed that weekend, with Cowell absent for some episodes. Cowell himself paid tribute two days after Payne's death. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer released a statement mourning Payne and mentioning One Direction's "huge impact on many millions of fans around the world". Wolverhampton councillor Simon Bennett said Payne should posthumously receive the Freedom of the City honour. Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. and West Bromwich Albion paid tributes to Payne.
On 18 October, a fan began a petition calling for "Liam's Law" to protect artists' mental health, which would enforce access to mental health professionals, regular mental health checks, and adequate rest periods. Within five days, their petition had been signed by over 68,000 people. In addition, Payne's death sparked a number of conspiracy theories.
On 25 October, all five One Direction albums reentered the top 40 of the UK Albums Chart at numbers 13 (Midnight Memories), 21 (Made in the A.M.), 22 (Four), 25 (Take Me Home), and 38 (Up All Night), with Payne's solo album LP1 re-entering at number 62. In addition, the One Direction songs "Night Changes", "Story of My Life", and "What Makes You Beautiful" and Payne songs "Strip That Down", "Get Low", and "Teardrops" entered the UK singles chart at six, nine, 23, 41, 43, and 85, with "Night Changes" bettering its previous peak of 7 and "Teardrops" entering for the first time.
American tabloid website TMZ obtained photographs of Payne's corpse and published cropped images that showed his arm and waist. Their decision to publish the photos was criticised by a number of fans and public figures, prompting the outlet to remove the images.
ABC News and Hulu produced an episode of Impact X Nightline about Payne's "final days", featuring contributions from X Factor contestant Mary Byrne and numerous ABC journalists before Payne's body had been buried, prompting criticism from a reviewer at The A.V. Club. Former BBC newsreader Michael Buerk accused the corporation of excessive coverage of the death, and was criticised for referring to Payne as a "drugged up, faded, boy band singer".
Shortly after his death, fans of the singer and One Direction gathered outside the hotel in Buenos Aires before breaking into applause as the van carrying Payne's body was driven away. The group then lit candles and wept before dispersing. Payne's father Geoff visited the memorial upon arriving in Buenos Aires. Fans also gathered to light candles in Mexico City on 17 October and a service was held in Copenhagen. Written notes were left at London's Hard Rock Cafe where the telephone box featured on the cover art of Take Me Home is on display.
At Clevedon Pier, where One Direction filmed the music video for "You & I", fans came to lay flowers at the One Direction plaque, which was installed to commemorate the filming of the music video. The pier's management also issued a statement of condolence and, in January 2025, a plaque was installed on the pier in Payne's memory. A vigil was held at the Lady Wulfrun statue at St Peter's Collegiate Church on 18 October. A fan memorial with an estimated attendance of up to 1,000 took place at Hyde Park on 20 October, as well as in other UK cities over the weekend. Further memorials were held in cities across the world, including in New York's Washington Square Park.
Rita Ora paid tribute to Payne at the 2024 MTV Europe Music Awards, calling him "one of the kindest people that [she] knew". Malik paid tribute to Payne at the end of all of his Stairway to the Sky Tour shows.