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Police said <a href="https://www.world-today-news.com/former-hairstylist-one-direction-slaps-out-of-school-entertainment/" title="Former hairstylist One Direction slaps out of school | Entertainment”>Liam Payne, a former member of the four-piece British boy band One Direction, died at the age of 31 after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The police released a statement on the 16th (local time) saying that Payne’s body was discovered by an ambulance dispatched to the upscale residential area of Palermo.
Payne, along with Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, and Zayn Malik, became a global star as a member of the popular boy band ‘One Direction’, which was formed through the TV program ‘X Factor’ that aired in 2010.
Earlier this month, Payne attended fellow member Horan’s concert in Argentina.
According to Buenos Aires police, at the time, police responded to a report of “an aggressive male who appeared to be under the influence of drugs and alcohol.”
The police officers who arrived at the scene received a report of a loud noise coming from the hotel courtyard, and discovered the body there shortly after. A police investigation is currently underway.
Local ambulance chief Alberto Crescenti told Argentine media that Payne had suffered “serious injuries” and that an autopsy would be performed. Crescenti declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding Payne’s fall from the balcony.
The British Foreign Office said it was in contact with Argentine authorities “in relation to reports of the death of a British man”, without providing details.
A few hours before the incident, Payne posted on the social media platform Snapchat, “Great day here in Argentina.”
Meanwhile, as news of his death spread, fans began to gather outside the Buenos Aires hotel where the incident occurred, and the police blocked the hotel’s entrance. Some even lit candles in his memory.
“We were in the living room when our sister told us the news of Payne’s death,” a young female fan named Violetta Antier told Reuters. “We couldn’t believe it. “I came here in person to check if it was true,” he explained.
Antie said he saw Payne at Horan’s concert just two weeks ago.
Another female fan cried in an interview with Reuters, explaining why she came to the hotel in person, saying, “This is the only way I can say goodbye to him.”
image copyright, Reuters
photo caption, Fans gathered in front of the Buenos Aires hotel where Payne was found dead.
Condolences are also pouring in online.
Max George, a member of boy band The Wanted, said he met Payne when he competed on The X Factor and said the news of his death was “really shocking”. “Over the past few years, I have had the pleasure of knowing him personally and spending precious time with him,” George said on Instagram.
He also recalled Payne’s “wonderful” support when Tom Parker, another member of The Wanted, suffered from a brain tumor.
When Parker died last year at the age of 33, Payne also attended the funeral.
Singer-songwriter Olly Murs, who appeared on X Factor a year before One Direction, expressed his sadness, saying, “I am at a loss for words.”
“Paine and I shared the same passions and dreams, so his passing at such an early age is heartbreaking and difficult for the family he left behind and for Payne’s son, Bear, who lost his father,” Murs wrote on Instagram.
Broadcaster Dermot O’Leary, who hosted The X Factor, also paid tribute to Payne on Instagram. O’Leary posted a photo of them together and wrote, “I remember Payne participating in the X Factor audition when he was 14 and surprising us by singing a Sinatra song.”
“He was always a joy, he had time for everyone, he was polite and grateful, and he was always humble.”
Socialite Paris Hilton wrote on
Payne, who was born in Wolverhampton, England, auditioned for ITV’s X Factor in 2008, but judge Simon Cowell sent him back, telling him to “come back in two years.”
In fact, Payne participated in the audition again two years later in 2010, and impressed the judges. Likewise, he formed the band ‘One Direction’ with four other members who participated in the solo audition.
One Direction enjoyed tremendous popularity, with four full-length albums reaching number one in the UK and four singles reaching number one on charts around the world, before announcing a hiatus in 2015.
Payne’s solo debut single ‘Strip That Down’, released in 2017, ranked 3rd on the UK Official Charts, and ‘For You’, an insert song for the movie ‘Fifty Shades of Grey: Liberation’, released with Rita Ora. Made it into the top 10.
In 2016, he began dating Cheryl Tweedy, a member of the popular British girl group Girls Aloud, and gave birth to their son, Bear Payne, the following year. The two broke up in 2018.
Meanwhile, Maya Henry, another lover of Payne’s, said she filed a request for a preliminary injunction against Payne through her lawyer earlier this week. Henry posted on social media that Payne was contacting him repeatedly. Payne showed no reaction to this.
