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In the age of ironclad fan devotion, we can identify consistent support and loyalty with regard to many beloved pop singers of the early 2010s that had an undoubtedly formative influence on countless teenagers. One person in particular, despite setbacks earlier in his career, pushed and strived for greatness, never giving up on his dream. His name was Liam Payne.
In 2008, 14-year-old Payne chose to pursue his musical passion and appeared on The X Factor, a British reality television music competition, where he performed “Fly Me to the Moon” by Frank Sinatra. While the aspiring singer was sent home at a later stage of the competition, that wasn’t the last the judges would see of him. In 2010, Payne returned to The X Factor where he performed “Cry Me A River” by Michael Bublé, and thanks to the intuition of judge Nicole Scherzinger, he was grouped with other teenage contestants Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Harry Styles. The rest is history.
Tragically, after years of success both in One Direction and in his solo career, Payne was found unresponsive and declared dead after a fall from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Oct. 16 at age thirty one. Today, we remember Liam Payne for his artistry and lasting impact on multiple generations through his musical involvements.
After being grouped together, the five boys went on to createthe now-iconic boy band: One Direction. Despite placing third in the competition, the singers quickly became stars and generated unprecedented levels of success in a short period after the show’s season finale. The timeless “What Makes You Beautiful,” the band’s first official song, was released in 2011 on Sept. 11 in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, and in 2012 on Feb. 14 in the United States.
Payne opened the song with his verse, and he was cemented in music history with this bubbly, electropop influenced song about uplifting girls and boosting their self-esteem. The song was the first single off their album “Up All Night” that went on to be highly successful, making One Direction the first U.K. group to have their debut album chart at number one in the U.S.
Shortly after the release in Europe, Payne and the rest of the band began to tour for “Up All Night” in December of that year. With tickets selling out minutes after going on sale across the world for both legs of the tour, the band played a total of 54 shows with a revenue of $5.1 million.
After “Up All Night,” the band went on to release four more albums: “Take Me Home,” “Midnight Memories,” “FOUR,” and “Made in the A.M..” Payne was immensely involved in the creative process for the band, co-writing hits like “Story of My Life,” “Night Changes,” and “Steal My Girl.” Each album was increasingly successful as the “One Direction Infection” began to spread worldwide and each member became the heartthrob for millions.
The subsequent tours over the next four years were also widely successful, with their last tour, the On the Road Again Tour, grossing $208 million with over 2.3 million tickets sold. Before going on an indefinite hiatus in Jan. 2016, the band accumulated 242 awards, including American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, and BRIT Awards.
It is undeniable that One Direction had and continues to have a cultural impact, both for older fans and the new fan community that has cropped up since their hiatus. While the members no longer interact as they once did, Horan, Malik, Tomlinson, Styles, and Payne all pursued solo careers afterward and found themselves through the process. Payne, in particular, went on to release the widely successful “Strip That Down (feat. Quavo)” in 2017. The song went on to reach one billion streams on Spotify on June 11.
This single became a part of Payne’s debut solo album, LP1, that was released in 2019 on Dec. 6. While Payne only released one album, he confirmed that he was working on music for his second studio album in May 2023. He continued to produce singles such as the most recently released “Teardrops” in March, Payne’s last song before his death. He further elaborated on the song in a now-somber statement on his Instagram account.
“‘Teardrops’ is about [the] vulnerability of heartbreak and the challenge of overcoming those moments,” said Payne. “This song marks the start of a new beginning. There’s lots more to come in 2024.”
In the aftermath of Payne’s death, it is worth acknowledging the mark he left on the music industry through his time as a member of One Direction and as a solo artist. Payne had a love for music that brought him success, which he used to inspire many young people to go after their dreams during his time in the spotlight, an admirable act and a positive quality that should be remembered during this time of grief.
Payne is survived by his 7-year-old son, Bear, his parents, Geoff and Karen Payne, and his two sisters, Nicola and Ruth.
CRISM