Liam James Payne

[nelson]

A Tragic Loss: Liam Payne Passes Away

Liam Payne, 31, had died after falling from a third-story hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A former member of history's most successful boy bands, One Direction, his body was said to be found by an incensed crew of emergency operatives while attending to a call in the upscale neighborhood of Palermo on Wednesday.

This international fame had emerged when he, along with Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, and Zayn Malik, was part of the all-boy band created on the X Factor TV show back in 2010. 

Last week, he had attended the concert of his former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan in Argentina.

Buenos Aires police said officers arriving at the scene were responding to reports "of an aggressive man who may have been under the effects of drugs and alcohol."

When authorities arrived at the hotel, officials told them about a loud noise in an interior courtyard. Moments later, the body was found in the yard. A police investigation is ongoing.

The 33-year-old Payne had "serious injuries," Alberto Crescenti, director of emergency medical services said. An autopsy would also be performed, he added. Mr Crescenti would not take any questions on how Payne fell off the balcony.

In a sickening twist, he had posted hours before his death on Snapchat: "It's a lovely day here in Argentina", in a video sent earlier in the week where he had been spending time with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy.

The UK Foreign Office confirmed it was in contact with authorities in Argentina "regarding reports of the death of a British man". No further details were given.

Fans have flocked to the Buenos Aires hotel where it happened, and police have taped off its entrance as several lit candles were in memory of his death.

"I was in my living room, and my sister told me Liam died," Violeta Antier, a young fan, told Reuters news agency. "We couldn't believe it. We came here directly to confirm it was true."

Ms. Antier said she saw him at the Niall Horan concert just two weeks ago.

Fellow singer Olly Murs also a competitor on X Factor, just one year ahead of One Direction, took to Twitter saying he was "Lost for words.".

"Liam had the same passions as me, the same drive for the same dreams to see his life end now so young hits hard, I'm truly gutted and devastated for his family, of course his son Bear who has lost a dad," he wrote to Instagram. Presenter Dermot O'Leary fondly remembered Payne on Instagram.

"I remember him as a 14-year-old turning up to audition on the X factor and blowing us away singing Sinatra," he captioned an Instagram photo of the two.

"He was always a joy, had time for everyone, polite, grateful and was always humble."

"Sending love and condolences to his family [and] loved ones," socialite Paris Hilton wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "RIP my friend."

This August, in a surprise move, the singer was announced to join a new Netflix talent show as a judge, willed by the former Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland alongside Pussy cat Dolls star Nicole Scherzinger.

Payne - Wolverhampton-born - first attempted stardom when auditioning for ITV talent show The X Factor way back in 2008 - but judge Simon Cowell told him to "come back in two years".

He did - impressing the judges more in 2010, and was put together with four other solo hopefuls at the boot camp stage; thus One Direction was born.

He managed to grab four UK number one albums and four number one singles before his exit in 2015, when the band was at the top of the charts worldwide. Zayn Malik left the band on hiatus.

Meanwhile for Payne, his solo Strip That Down reached number three in the Official UK Chart back in 2017, as well as his single with Rita Ora, For You–featuring on the Fifty Shades Freedsoundtrack–which reached the top 10.

In 2016 he started dating Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Tweedy and have a son together, Bear born in 2017. In 2018, they broke up.

The BBC has seen a cease and desist letter against the singer earlier this week from another of Payne's ex-partners Maya Henry.