After the sudden demise of former One Direction singer Liam Payne, his family issued an emotional statement, saying they are heartbroken.
“We are heartbroken. Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul,” the family said in a statement to PA Media, the UK and Ireland’s national news agency, Variety reported.
“We are supporting each other the best we can as a family and ask for privacy and space at this awful time,” the statement further read.
The singer’s death occurred after he reportedly fell from a hotel balcony in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was 31.
Though Payne was initially reported to have fallen three floors from the hotel, Pablo Policicchio, the communications director for the Buenos Aires Security Ministry, later said in a statement that Payne “had jumped from the balcony of his room.” Following the news of Payne’s death, tributes poured out from “The X Factor,” Backstreet Boys, Paris Hilton and more. “Britain’s Got Talent,” the show that former “X Factor” judge and one-time One Direction manager Simon Cowell is currently featured on, also cancelled its auditions on Thursday due to Payne’s death.
Payne was discovered on “The X Factor” in 2010 alongside his One Direction bandmates Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan. The five musicians auditioned for the show solo, but were put together to form a band and eventually came in third place in the competition. Afterwards, One Direction was signed to Cowell’s Syco Entertainment. The band went on to become one of the highest-selling boy bands in history, selling 70 million records worldwide before announcing an indefinite hiatus in 2016, Variety reported.
After One Direction’s hiatus, Payne signed a solo record deal with Capitol Records U.K. and began releasing music in 2017, beginning with the single “Strip That Down” featuring Migos rapper Quavo. His debut solo album, “LP1,” debuted in December 2019 and he put out a new single, “Teardrops,” in March with a second album on the way.
