Liam Payne, the British singer and former One Direction member who helped propel the boy band to global superstardom, has died, Argentine authorities told local media. He was 31.
Payne died Wednesday evening after falling from a balcony on the third floor of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, according to Alberto Crescenti, head of the state emergency medical system, who told a local TV station that the emergency call came in around 5 p.m. Payne succumbed to injuries suffered in the fall, with no chance of resuscitation, Crescenti said in Spanish.
Pablo Policicchio, spokesperson for the Security Ministry of Buenos Aires municipality, said in a statement that Payne “had thrown himself from the balcony of his room.” He said police were dispatched to the hotel in response to an emergency call about an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.” Arriving police heard a thud and found Payne’s body in the hotel courtyard, Policicchio said.
The emergency call, Reuters reported, was from a hotel worker pleading for help with a guest. “He is destroying the entire room and we need you to send someone,” the worker said, adding that they believed the guest’s life was at risk because of the balcony in his room.
Fans of Payne and others who gathered outside the hotel watched as first responders took the body away, the news service reported. Some embraced, wept and “burst into applause.”
The singer died two weeks after he arrived in Argentina to attend the Oct. 2 concert of fellow One Direction singer Niall Horan.
Payne was seen in video shared on social media greeting fans at the concert, held at Movistar Arena — shaking hands with excited fans and playfully doing the macarena. He had posted a Snapchat story before the trip about wanting to reconnect with his old bandmate.
Payne made the trip with girlfriend Kate Cassidy, but she left Argentina earlier this week.
Payne was best known as a member of One Direction, the “X Factor” success story-turned-global phenomenon that also included Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Harry Styles. One Direction formed in 2010 after each of the five would-be members failed to advance as solo artists on the British talent show and were put into a group instead, where the “X Factor” judges — including Simon Cowell and Nicole Scherzinger — felt they would thrive.
Police gather outside the Buenos Aires hotel where Liam Payne was found dead after falling from a balcony late Wednesday afternoon.
(Natacha Pisarenko / Associated Press)
The dreamy quintet, which drew comparisons to the Beatles, was known for hits including “What Makes You Beautiful” and “Story of My Life.” During the band’s heyday, Payne was known among fans as one of the group’s quieter members. On occasion, he would lead songs, including early tracks “Gotta Be You” and “Stole My Heart.” To his One Direction peers, Payne was like their very own Gary Barlow, one of the U.K.’s most successful singer-songwriters.
“Liam has that Barlow aura. He says things like, ‘Come on boys, let’s roll. Let’s get going.’ He knows it and can’t deny it,” Horan told the Sun in 2012.
One Direction never received Grammy Awards glory but picked up several awards at the American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards and Brit Awards. In 2016, the group disbanded as its members opted to pursue individual careers. Payne released his first single “Strip That Down” with rapper Quavo in 2017. His solo releases also include “Bedroom Floor” and his most recent single, “Teardrops,” released in March.
Payne released his only solo album, “LP1,” in 2019. “I am doing really good, I’m actually the happiest I think I’ve ever been,” he said, answering fan questions ahead of the album’s debut.
Liam James Payne, was born Aug. 29, 1993, in Wolverhampton, England. He made his “X Factor” debut in 2008, at age 14, delivering a charming performance of “Fly to Me the Moon” and gaining the approval of the judges.
Liam Payne, who was in France in March 2024, traveled to Buenos Aires to catch a concert from a former One Direction bandmate.
(Marc Piasecki / GC Images / Getty Images)
“I think about singing all the time,” said Payne, who was a schoolboy at the time. “I should really be concentrating on my work. But I just think about singing too much. It’s a dream. I’d love to do it.”
Cowell, having determined Payne was not ready just yet, cut the aspiring singer’s journey short. Two years later, Payne returned to “X Factor” for another shot at fame. For his 2010 audition, Payne showed off his vocal chops with Ella Fitzgerald’s “Cry Me a River.” Gaining a standing ovation and the judges’ validation, Payne had opened the door to a music career that would take him well beyond Britain.
In a shocking twist to Payne’s second “X Factor” journey, Cowell and Scherzinger decided he would join Styles, Horan, Malik and Tomlinson to form One Direction — one of two groups vying for the prize. One Direction failed to take home the “X Factor” crown, but the band’s momentum showed no signs of stopping.
Most popular among younger listeners, One Direction released five albums in five years, embarked on four world tours and received the documentary treatment with the 2013 concert film “One Direction: This Is Us.” But ultimately, Malik left the group in March 2015 and the band went on indefinite hiatus starting in 2016.
After his One Direction days, Payne continued working with other artists including French Montana, Ed Sheeran and Charlie Puth. “Liam was always so kind to me,” Puth said in an Instagram tribute shared Wednesday.
In recent years, Payne was open about his struggles with mental health, pills and alcohol. He was also hospitalized in 2023 for a “serious kidney infection” that interrupted his South American tour.
In a candid video shared to his YouTube page in 2023, Payne detailed his relationship with Bear, his 7-year-old son with ex-girlfriend Cheryl Cole, and revealed that he was six months sober.
“It’s good to be in this position, and definitely don’t need those things anymore,” he said. “Party’s over.”
Times staff writer Sandra McDonald and the Associated Press contributed to this report.