Liam Payne, 31, had his path set at a young age. Even failing to participate in a talent show at age 14 didn’t take away his conviction that he wanted to make a living singing. Under the guidance of Simon Cowell, he returned to Britain’s X Factor and became part of one of the most influential bands in the world. He experienced tremendous growth with One Direction. And like many stories like this, it all started with a dream. musician died this wednesdayIn Argentina, after falling from a hotel room balcony.
“Do you know what you like to do, singing? Keep going. When you turn 14, something fantastic will happen. “I’m not talking about puberty,” he said, recalling how 2020 presented him with the following challenges: Radio 1 Yes BBC Write a letter to your 10-year-old self. And he did not spare young Payne. spoiler: “Get ready. Life will become surreal.”
Participation in a talent program does not always guarantee talent or success. That didn’t happen to Liam Payne, who was born in Wolverhapton, England on August 29, 1993. He first appeared on the X Factor stage at the age of 14, singing without a beard. take me to the moon One of my first auditions was a piece by Frank Sinatra. One of the judges, Simon Cowell, saw potential and charisma in him, but his time on the show in 2008 was short-lived. has been deleted from. boot campIt was while I was undergoing special training at Cowell’s home in Barbados.
“For the first time (I went to Paul. podcast impulsive. “Afterwards he had dinner with me and my mother and One Direction manager were there too. He apologized and told me to come back in two years after I finished my studies. At this point I was very upset.”
He did as he was told without lowering his arms. He studied and received a high school diploma. Along the way, he sang at home, in bars, wherever they left. sometimes cachet It wasn’t enough to cover the cost of gas for the round trip, but it was okay. At 16, he competed again on The X Factor.
rising
There are a lot of videos spread on the internet From the moment he stepped off stage and met Simon Cowell again. A shy smile and a shake of the head like old acquaintances. “Simon, are you okay? “I haven’t seen you for a while,” he said.
The same voice, now less childish, left the following impression on the judges: Cry Me A RiverVersion by Michael Bublé. It worked. He got the four motions he expected and moved on.
“It’s very clear who will make it on The X Factor because the cameras follow you around. I became everyone’s enemy boot camp”He recalled in 2022. It was a surprise to hear the news of elimination not long after.
“We got kicked out and Niall (Horan, member of One Direction) and I were about to get on the train when a woman stopped us and said the judges wanted to talk to us. And because I’d already been through this once, I thought, ‘It’s already bad enough, I don’t need this,’” he told Logan Paul.
Legend has it that the band was formed “in less than 10 minutes.” And contrary to expectations, it was not Simon Cowell but Nicole Scherzinger, lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, who took on the greatest responsibility for collecting photos of the contestants who performed best together. niall Horan, harry stylesLiam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Zyan Malik have formed “the cutest band of all time” that “girls will love,” according to Scherzinger.
Thus was born One Direction, one of the most successful bands in modern history, selling more than 70 million records worldwide during their time together.
It was through short videos in the X Factor diaries that fans began to learn about the new idols and their characteristics. If Harry Styles was your lover and Zayn Malik was your lover bad boyLiam Payne took on the roles of “responsible person” and “guardian”.
“At the same time, we think it’s technically a perfect storm scenario.”
While the program was being recorded, fans gathered outside the building. They came third in the competition but were guaranteed a contract with Simon Cowell’s company. your one debut, what makes you beautifulIt was released in 2011 and was an immediate success.
“We went from not being very good to being very good,” Payne explains. “You want to be in a boy band, but not the obvious one.”
As for the good moments, I remember how much fun it was to compose. “I had a lot of fun in the band (…) once I knew what people wanted, it was very easy.” As for the bad moments, he remembers that the atmosphere between them wasn’t always the healthiest. “Louis and I hated each other to the point where we punched each other.”
complex relationship
It was a very sheltered existence. They filled stadiums, but at the expense of their freedom, hysterical fans chased them everywhere in pure Beatlemania style. Liam Payne, soon to turn 30, recalled his youth in an interview with Logan Paul: “Writing on my projects is still very difficult. I’ve been locked in a hotel room since I was 15. I don’t know what I like. “What do I write music about?”
It was while at One Direction that he started drinking, and when their management team locked them in a hotel room “to ensure their safety”.
“What else are you going to do after performing for thousands of people and then being locked in a room in a country where you can’t see anything? “The minibar is always there,” he said. guardian 2019. At that point, he became, as he puts it, “very good” at hiding his face from people who were drunk or on drugs.
During their time together, they released five albums and completed four albums. tour – All pass through at least Europe and North America, the latter extending into Oceania, Asia and Africa.
In August 2015, after Zayn left to focus on other individual projects, the group announced that they would be taking a break to allow everyone to focus on their own projects. At that time, the break period had an end date. It would last only one year and included a promise that the group would “work together in the future”.
But this never happened.
In Logan Paul’s podcast, which begins with the pair ordering a shot of whiskey and the host apologizing that “it’s 5pm somewhere in the world,” Payne points out that despite being one of the most successful bands in the world, they have very little time. I admitted it. Celebrate Achievements: “Until it’s over…” We don’t appreciate things for what they are.”
After One Direction ended, his personal life became increasingly difficult. In 2016, a year after the band ended, he began dating singer Cheryl Cole, whom he met backstage on The X Factor. In 2017, she gave birth to her son, Bear Gray Payne. In 2018 they ended.
open book
After the band, he attempted a solo career, despite having some success with: strip down itIn reality it wasn’t successful.
In a letter he wrote to himself, he asked, “I thought I reached the top too quickly. Will I ever get there again?” “Looking back, I’m really grateful.”
Over time, he became an open book. He spoke about his struggles with alcohol problems and depression. suicidal thoughts. In 2023, he admitted he was trying to quit drinking. “I’ve been sober for 100 days,” he told IFL TV. “It feels really good.”
Liam Payne died this Wednesday in a hotel near Palermo, Buenos Aires. He fell from the third floor and seriously injured his head. He was pronounced dead at the scene, but the cause of the crash is not yet known.
According to some currently released photos, social mediaDrug remains were found in several areas of Payne’s hotel room, and a television was also destroyed. Some fans shared on social media that they were together. musician in the last hours of his life And he may be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Payne has been in Argentina since early October to meet former bandmate Niall Horan on stage. “It’s been a while since Niall and I last spoke. “We have a lot to talk about,” he said in a video posted on Snapchat.
During the show, Payne was seen singing, dancing and behaving erratically, with security even stopping him at Argentina’s River Plate Stadium urging him to stop.
A few weeks ago, excerpts from an interview with Maya Henry, with whom he was engaged from 2020 to 2022, began appearing on the podcast The Internet is Dead. book from now on. In the interview, he said Payne had talked to him about his death several times.
Additionally, the content of the book sold as a novel turned out to be true. In the book, the main character says she was forced to have an abortion (the co-protagonist says, “If I don’t have an abortion, I’ll lose myself”). “What I experienced in real life was very similar to Mallory’s experience. I had complications and had to go to the hospital alone,” she revealed on TikTok, which returned to social media this week.