Remembering Liam Payne: One Direction Member Turned Solo Artist And Certified Platinum Singer

Liam Payne was found dead on Wednesday, October 16, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. According to The Associated Press, the former One Direction singer had fallen from a third-floor hotel balcony. He was 31. The singer was in Buenos Aires to attend the concert of his former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan.

Who was Liam Payne?

He was born on August 29, 1993, in the Heath Town district of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. He was the son of Karen Payne and Geoff Payne. He had two older sisters, Nicola and Ruth Payne. Payne first auditioned for the 5th season of The X Factor in 2008, at 14 years old, in front of judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh. He won the first round but was subsequently cut at the Boot Camp stage. However, Cowell changed his mind and encouraged him to come back in two years.

Payne returned to the show in 2010 for the seventh season of the singing-based reality show. Following his solo audition, he was considered the second favourite to win the competition. However, he failed to progress to the "Boys" category at judges' houses, but after a suggestion by guest judge Nicole Scherzinger, Payne, along with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik, were put together to form a five-piece boy band at Wembley Arena, during the bootcamp stage of the competition, thus qualifying for the "Groups" category. The group (later known as One Direction) quickly gained popularity in the UK, ultimately coming in third place on the show. Following The X Factor, One Direction was signed to Simon Cowell's Syco Entertainment.

One Direction churned out numerous hit tracks, including Story Of My Life. Their five albums, Up All Night (2011), Take Me Home (2012), Midnight Memories (2013), Four (2014), and Made in the A.M. (2015), topped charts in several countries, and generated hit singles including What Makes You Beautiful, Live While We're Young, Best Song Ever, and Drag Me Down. After the release of Four, the five-member boyband became the first band in the US Billboard 200 history to have their first four albums debut at number one. Their third album, Midnight Memories, was the best-selling album worldwide of 2013.

They became one of the best-selling boy groups of all time before going on an indefinite hiatus in 2016. Post hiatus, he started churning out solo tracks making his way up to billboard.

About Liam Payne's personal life

From 2010 to late 2012, Payne dated then-X Factor dancer Danielle Peazer. In 2016, he started dating Cheryl Cole (his former X-factor judge). Together they welcomed a son, Bear, in March 2017. However, in 2018, parted ways. In 2019, Payne began dating model Maya Henry in 2019 and they got engaged in August 2020. However, in June 2021, they broke off their engagement only to reunite later that year. In May 2022, the couple ended their engagement for the second time and this time for good.