Former One Direction band member Liam Payne has passed away at the age of 31. It is reported Payne fell from a third story balcony of the hotel he was staying at in Beunos Aires, Argentina. Payne was reportedly in Argentina to attend former band member Niall Horan’s concert.

Police were dispatched to the hotel after receiving a call about “an aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol”. Upon arriving at the scene Police were said to have heard a thud and found Payne in the courtyard of the hotel. He was pronounced dead by medics at the scene.

Liam Payne, an hour before dying, posting on Snapchat. 💔 pic.twitter.com/iTHfzu7IMx

— DramaAlert (@DramaAlert) October 16, 2024

Payne rose to success along with his One Direction bandmates after their appearance on the British TV show “The X Factor”. The crew originally auditioned individually, but after all failed to advance Simon Cowell and his X Factor judges decided to combine Payne with Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan, thus forming One Direction. Although the group would not ultimately win the competition. They are undoubtedly the greatest success story to come out of the popular British show, and of the most infamous boy bands of all time. 

The band endured massive success throughout the 2010’s with smash hits “What Makes You Beautiful” “Night Changes” and “Story of My Life” among numerous other chart toppers. The group would see a major setback in 2015 with the departure of Zayn Malik, which left many fans uncertain with the future of the band. One Direction would go on an indefinite hiatus in 2016, just a year after Malik’s departure.

After One Direction Payne would embark on a very successful solo career. In 2017 he would release “Strip That Down” Ft. Quavo. It would peak at #3 in the UK and #10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. His debut solo album “LP1” would be released in December 2019. His last single “Teardrops” was released on March 1st, 2024.

In recent years Payne had admittedly struggled with alcoholism. He posted a video to his YouTube channel in 2023 saying that he was six months sober after receiving care for his addiction.

At this time Payne’s death and the circumstances surrounding it are still under investigation by local authorities in Argentina. It is unclear at this point whether the fall was an accident, or Payne himself jumped from the balcony.

Payne is survived by his son, Bear, his parents, Geoff and Karen, and his two sisters, Nicola and Ruth.