Liam Payne, ex-member of boy band One Direction, dead at 31 after hotel balcony fall in Argentina | CBC News
[ad_1]
Former One Direction member Liam Payne, 31, was found dead after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, local officials said.
Buenos Aires police said in a statement that Payne fell from the third floor of the Casa Sur Hotel in the trendy Palermo neighbourhood of Argentina’s capital, resulting in “extremely serious injuries.” Medics confirmed his death on the spot, the statement said.
Alberto Crescenti, head of the state emergency medical system, said on Argentina’s Todo Noticias TV channel that Payne fell into the hotel’s courtyard, but declined to answer further questions about the incident, including whether Payne jumped off the balcony or fell.
Crescenti told Todo Noticias that authorities were investigating the circumstances of his death and conducting an autopsy.
One Direction fans flocked from across Buenos Aires to the Casa Sur Hotel after the news broke, forming lines that spilled into the street as police stood sentinel outside. Young women at the scene expressed shock and heartbreak.
Paramedics, police and a crowd of people holding up smartphones gathered outside the Casa Sur Hotel in Argentina’s capital after local officials reported that former One Direction member Liam Payne, 31, died after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony.
“I didn’t think he was going to die so young,” 21-year-old Isabella Milesi told The Associated Press. Video showed dozens gathered on the cordoned-off street outside the hotel, with many recording videos on their cellphones. A forensic investigator was seen exiting the hotel, where Payne’s body remained Wednesday evening.
Payne was one of five members in the band One Direction, which formed in 2010 when they each auditioned for the British singing competition series The X Factor.
After each singer failed to make it through the competition as solo acts, Simon Cowell and his fellow judges combined them into a group that would go on to become an extremely successful boy band.
The band became known for their pop sound and romantic hits like What Makes You Beautiful. They had six Top 10 hits on the Billboard charts by the time they disbanded in 2016. Their loyal fan base of mostly teen girls became known as “Directioners.”
“I’ve always loved One Direction since I was little. To see that he died and that there will never be another reunion of the boys is unbelievable, it kills me,” said 18-year-old Juana Relh, another fan outside Payne’s hotel.
After the group’s dissolution, Payne — like each of his erstwhile bandmates — pursued a solo career, shifting toward EDM and hip-hop. His 2017 single Strip That Down, featuring rapper Quavo, reached the Billboard Top 10, and stayed on the charts for several months. He put out an album LP1 in 2019, and his last release, a single called Teardrops, was released in March.
Payne had a seven-year-old son, Bear Grey Payne, with his former girlfriend, the musician Cheryl, who was known as Cheryl Cole when she performed with Girls Aloud. She was an X Factor judge during One Direction’s season.
Payne was previously engaged to Maya Henry, from August 2020 to early 2022. Henry released a novel earlier this year that she said was based on their relationship.
In addition to his son, he is survived by his parents Geoff and Karen Payne, and his two older sisters, Ruth and Nicola. Representatives for Payne did not immediately return The Associated Press’s emails or calls.
