Liam Payne died in Buenos Aires on Wednesday at the age of 31.
The hitmaker reportedly fell from a third floor of a hotel in the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires, according to TMZ. Investigations into his death are still ongoing.
The English star rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction, alongside his former bandmates Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson.
He made his debut as a singer on the British television series The X Factor, when he was 14.
As Hollywood mourns the musician, DailyMail.com takes a look back at the highs and lows of his life and career.
Liam Payne died in Buenos Aires on Wednesday at the age of 31, after he reportedly fell from a third floor of a hotel in the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires, according to TMZ; seen in 2023
As Hollywood mourns the musician, DailyMail.com takes a look back at his life and career; (L-R) Liam pictured with One Direction members Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Harry Styles in 2013
The X Factor (2008)
Payne had his first audition for the fifth series of The X Factor in 2008, when he was just 14 years old.
The audition was held in front of judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh.
He advanced past the first round of X Factor after impressing the judges with his rendition of Frank Sinatra’s ‘Fly Me to the Moon.’
Though he was initially eliminated at the Boot Camp stage, Cowell brought Payne back for the judges’ houses stage. He was cut again during judges’ houses but was encouraged by Cowell to return in two years.
The singer returned to the show in 2010, auditioning in front of Cowell, Cole, Walsh and guest judge Natalie Imbruglia.
Following a suggestion from former judge Nicole Scherzinger, he was put together with Horan, Malik, Styles and Tomlinson to form a boy band.
He made his debut as a singer on the British television series The X Factor, when he was 14; seen on X Factor in 2010
The fan reaction was instant too, with 1D hysteria soon dwarfing the show. Despite the adoration, the band ultimately finished in third place on the X Factor.
Cowell later admitted to Rolling Stone that it took him ‘about a millionth of a second’ to spot the group’s worldwide potential.
After the X Factor, One Direction were signed to Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment.
One Direction (2010 – 2016)
One Direction’s debut single, What Makes You Beautiful, was released September 2011 and reached number one in several countries.
It was followed by their debut album, Up All Night, making One Direction the first UK group to have their debut album reach number one in the United States.
The group released ‘Live While We’re Young’, the lead single from their second album in September 2012. It became an instant global success.
By November 2012, they released their second album, Take Me Home, which reached number one in over 35 countries.
The group’s third album, Midnight Memories, was released in November 2013. It became the best-selling album worldwide that year, with 4 million copies sold globally.
After the X Factor, One Direction were signed to Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment; the group seen in 2013
The group’s third headline tour, the Where We Are Tour, grossed over $290 million, setting a new record as the highest-grossing tour of all time by a vocal group.
The group released their fourth album, Four, in 2014. It was the last album that included Gigi Hadid’s ex Zayn.
Following the release of their fifth album, Made in the A.M., in November 2015, the group went on an indefinite break.
Payne was a key songwriter in One Direction, contributing to more than half of the songs on the band’s third and fourth albums.
After Malik announced his departure from the band in 2015, Payne had to take over the majority of his vocals.
Eventually, the band went their separate ways.
During their time as a band, One Direction won five Brit Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, amassed over three billion YouTube views and sold 50 million records worldwide.
Solo Career
After releasing five albums with one of the biggest boybands of all time, Liam released his first solo album titled LP1 in 2019.
His singles Strip That Down co-written with Ed Sheeran climbed its way to number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that same year.
