Liam Payne’s ‘heartbroken’ family pay tribute to pop star’s hotel death

LONDON – Liam Payne’s family paid tribute to the pop star following his death after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina on Wednesday.

“We are heartbroken. Liam will live on forever in our hearts and we will remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul,” the Payne family said in a brief statement to the London-based Press Association news agency. “We support each other as a family as best we can and ask for privacy and space during this terrible time.”

Payne, 31, died after a hotel receptionist called 911 to report that a distraught guest, high on drinks and drugs, was “destroying the whole room.”

Payne became famous in 2010 as part of the five-member boy band One Direction, which was founded on the British talent show “X Factor”. The group didn’t win this season of the show, finishing third, but it was enough to secure a record deal with Syco Records, run by “X Factor” judge Simon Cowell.

The band became phenomenally successful: One Direction became the first band to have their first four albums debut at number 1 on the US Billboard 200. One Direction’s 2014 tour in support of their album Midnight Memories grossed $290 million, the highest-grossing tour of the year.

Since the news of Payne’s death, One Direction fans have gathered at the Casa Sur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires to pay tribute to Payne and sing some of the group’s songs.

Rebecca Ferguson, the British singer who came second on the same season of “X Factor,” recalled meeting him at a train station in 2010 on the way to the taping of the show

“I can’t help but think of the boy who was hopeful and looking forward to his bright future,” she wrote on X.

“If he hadn’t jumped on that train and that taxi, I think he would still be alive today,” she said.

Ferguson added that “many of us are still living with the consequences” of being young stars.

Although he didn’t mention Payne, Oasis singer Liam Gallagher called it quits early Thursday

When asked on X if he had seen the news of Payne’s death, he replied: “It’s very sad.”

KIN Partners, Payne’s former talent agency, said in a statement: “We have not worked with Liam since approximately 2021, but it goes without saying that the entire KIN family was devastated to hear the sad news of his death heard about the news media.” We woke up this morning. Our thoughts are with his loved ones, especially his beloved son.