Entering the entertainment industry at the age of 14, no one could have expected a talent like Liam Payne to pass away just 17 years later. So what happened after his death?
This article belongs to the series In Summary
Briefly answer the most important questions surrounding an event: Who? What? When? Where? How many? How? Why?
1. What happened?
Liam Payne, a former member of the band One Direction, has been confirmed dead at the age of 31 after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. According to the director of the Emergency Medical Services Alberto Crescenti, Liam suffered serious injuries and an autopsy will be performed.
Liam is reportedly in Argentina to join former One Direction member Niall Horan on tour. Hours earlier, Liam had posted on Snapchat: “Today is a beautiful day in Argentina.”
2. What was Liam’s condition before he died?
3 years ago, in the podcast A Diary of AC EO, he opened up about his dark times, with alcohol and drug addiction, difficulties at work and times he wanted to end his life. Since then, he has been constantly involved in personal scandals such as: Badmouthing group members, making disrespectful statements about women, in addition to serious health problems.
In May last year, Liam shared that he was in the process of working on a new album and tour, after years of delays due to mental health issues. But just half a year later, he announced that all plans had to be postponed because he had a kidney infection. At the same time, the singer was also involved in a lawsuit with his ex-fiancée, singer Maya Henry.
Since their failed breakup in 2021, Maya has filed a lawsuit accusing Liam of harassing her and her family by calling and sending threatening emails.
In an interview with The Internet Is Dead two days before Liam’s death, Maya said the British singer had predicted his own death by repeatedly telling her: “I’m not okay. I’m going to die!”
At the same time, Liam was dating his new girlfriend: Katie Cassidy. The two traveled to Argentina together while Liam attended a concert of his bandmate, Niall Horan.
But Katie had left a few days before the accident and Liam was alone at the hotel. Police are still conducting a post-mortem and have not yet confirmed whether the cause of death was suicide or an accident.
3. What legacy has Liam Payne left for the music industry?
Liam began his career at the age of 14 when he competed on the X-Factor. Two years later, he returned to the X-Factor as a member of the boy band One Direction. Although they did not win the show, One Direction have become one of the biggest boy bands of all time, with over 70 million singles sold worldwide.
Besides his natural voice, the British singer is also known as a composer, contributing 2/3 of the album FOUR – one of One Direction’s best albums during their active time, and Made in the AM in 2015.
Since One Direction’s disbandment in 2016, Liam has continued to work as a solo artist. His 2017 single Strip That Down and LP1 album have achieved impressive results, with over 1 billion streams and over 30 million copies sold.
Although not as active as other members of One Direction like Harry Styles or Zayn Malik, Liam still has a place for himself in the music industry thanks to his unique blend of three genres: R&B, Pop and Electronic Dance.
