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Former one direction star, Liam Payne has passed away, leaving his fans and fellow celebrities in shock. He was found dead on Wednesday after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, 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 neighborhood of Argentina’s capital, resulting in “extremely serious injuries.” Medics claim the then 31 year old singer died on the spot.
According to police, the singer had “jumped from the balcony of his room.” Police rushed to the hotel in response to an emergency call just after 5 p.m. local time warning of an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” the statement added.
Former Little Mix singer Jade Thirlwall has shared a tribute to Liam Payne following his death. Posting on her Instagram page, the singer described the news of Payne’s death as “truly heartbreaking”. She refers to Payne as “the first friend I made in this industry”. “Both of us so young, so ambitious, both hoping we’d ‘make it’. I hope you are at peace now,” she says, accompanying the words with a picture of the pair. Little Mix appeared on the eighth series of X Factor in 2011, winning the competition one year after One Direction took part.
James Cordon has joined the tributes for Liam Payne, describing the pop star as having a “loving and kind soul”. In an Instagram post, the Gavin and Stacey actor said: “Talking about Liam in the past tense is utterly heart-breaking. I will treasure the moments I got to spend with him. My thoughts are with his family today x.” Payne previously appeared as a guest on Cordon’s The Late Late Show in America.
Former One Direction bandmate Zayn Malik has released an emotional tribute to Liam Payne. “Liam I have found myself talking out loud to you, hoping you can hear me, I can’t help but think selfishly that there was so many more conversations for us to have in our lives,” he says on Instagram. “I never got to thank you for supporting me through some of the most difficult times in my life. “When I was missing home as a 17-year-old kid, you would always be there with a positive outlook and reassuring smile and let me know you were my friend and that I was loved.” He also shared this photo of him and Payne when they were younger. He says: “I lost a brother when you left us and can’t explain to you what I’d give to just give you a hug one last time and say goodbye to you properly. I will cherish all the memories I have with you in my heart forever.”
Writing on Instagram, Louis Tomlinson says Payne was an “incredible songwriter with a great sense of melody” and “the most vital part of One Direction”. “His experience from a young age, his perfect pitch, his stage presence, his gift for writing. The list goes on. Thank you for shaping us Liam,” he says. He adds: "I want you to know that if Bear ever needs me I will be the Uncle he needs in his life and tell him stories of how amazing his dad was. I wish I got a chance to say goodbye and tell you one more time how much I loved you.” Payne shared his seven-year-old son Bear with Girls Aloud singer Cheryl.
DJ and producer Zedd mourned the loss on X, first writing “RIP Liam… I can’t believe this is real.” He followed up that Tweet with another expressing how “Life is short and fragile” and that “We live in times where being rude, divisive and mean is normal; sometimes even celebrated.” Zedd ended his post by encouraging fans and peers to “do our best to be kind, supportive and mindful.”
“My condolences to everyone who, like me, grew up listening to 1D and who cultivated so many good moments with their music. It’s so sad that all of this doesn’t seem real,” Brazilian actress-singer Maisa Silva wrote on X.
Charlie Puth expressed his condolences on Instagram. “I am in shock right now. Liam was always so kind to me. He was one of the first major artists I got to work with. I can not believe he is gone…,” he wrote in his first Instagram Story. Puth, 32, also shared a video of the two laughing with each other, and added the text “I’m so upset right now, may he rest in peace.”
