Liam Payne, a singer who rose to fame as a member of the chart-topping boy band One Direction, has died while in Buenos Aires, according to multiple news agencies. He was 31.
The Associated Press obtained a statement from Buenos Aires police saying that Payne fell from the third story window of Casa Sur Hotel in the Palermo neighborhood of the Argentine capital. Pablo Policicchio, the spokesperson for the Security Ministry of Buenos Aires municipality, provided the Associated Press with a statement saying police were dispatched after receiving an emergency call about an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol” and found Payne’s body in the hotel courtyard.
AP reports that officials are still investigating the events that led to Payne’s death. NPR reached out to representatives for Payne but has not received a response.
Across five albums released in the 2010s, One Direction became a global phenomenon. Sustained by singles like “Live While We’re Young” and “Best Song Ever,” the quintet charted a course from reality show runners-up to full-on teen fixation.
Payne was born in 1993 in Wolverhampton, England. He first auditioned for The X Factor UK in 2008 but was not chosen to move forward by judge Simon Cowell. He returned in 2010.
“I do think Simon did the right thing and I wasn’t ready,” he said as he introduced himself to the judges onstage. “Now I’m 16, and I’m back and I’m ready to give it another shot.”
He then launched into a cover of Michael Buble’s rendition of “Cry Me A River.” His second attempt at entering the reality TV contest earned him roaring applause, but Payne was almost eliminated in subsequent rounds. Instead of being sent home, he was selected to form a group with four other boys who also would not be moving forward in solo categories: Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson. Styles suggested a name and it stuck.
At the turn of the millennium, the boy band stood at the center of the pop zeitgeist, but a decade later, when Payne and his bandmates emerged from the reality competition, the format had lost much of its luster. One Direction caught on almost immediately in the U.K. and the U.S., with the group’s classic rock-influenced debut single “What Makes You Beautiful,” breathing new life into model.
With 2014’s Four, the boy band made history as the first group to have its first four albums — all released between 2012 and 2014 — go to No. 1 on the Billboard 200. In 2014 they also had the highest grossing tour of the year, which became one of the highest grossing shows of all-time. The band amassed a devoted following during its run and helped to open the door for other international acts that would follow, like BTS.
After Malik left the group in 2015, One Direction released one final album, Made in the A.M., as a quartet before going on an indefinite hiatus in 2016. When the group later won the Video of the Year award at the 2017 Brit Awards for their song “History,” Payne was the only member in attendance. Standing alongside Cowell he said, “The sheer devotion that our fans have shown online for this is absolutely amazing. We’ve been taking a bit of time working on our solo material, but One Direction is who we are and it’s who we always will be.”
As the members split off to pursue solo careers, Payne was the third to make his debut: The album, LP1, was released in 2019 and spawned a handful of popular singles, including “Strip That Down” with the Migos frontman Quavo and “For You” with English singer Rita Ora. It was his only album; in 2023, Payne revealed to Rolling Stone that he was working on a follow-up, and he released the single, “Teardrops” in March.
In a video posted to his YouTube page in 2023, Payne opened up about his struggle with alcoholism and his sobriety and detailed his decision to join a treatment program in Louisiana, where he spent several months. “Ever since then, I’ve just been trying to get to know this new guy,” he said, signaling himself.
Payne is survived by a 7-year-old son, his parents and two sisters.
Sheldon Pearce contributed reporting to this story.