By: Ava Wynkoop
Early Life
Liam Payne was a singer/songwriter born in the U.K. on Aug. 29th, 1993. During his childhood, he had a scarred kidney, which caused many health issues. Up to the age of four, he spent a lot of time in the hospital getting tests and treatments. Liam grew up in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom, and joined many sports clubs at his school. The sport he competed in the most was cross country. He pursued his career in running by joining Wolverhampton and Bilston Athletics Club, where he was ranked in the top three for the 1500-meter race of his age group. Liam was bullied a lot throughout middle school, so he took up boxing lessons at the age of 12. Liam completed 11 GCSEs at St Peter’s Collegiate School (now St Peter’s Collegiate Academy). He then decided to study music technology at the City of Wolverhampton College.
His Career: The Band
Liam Payne was introduced to the performance industry at the age of 12. He was a part of the Pink Productions Theatre Company’s production of “Saturday Night Fever.” In 2008, Liam Payne decided to audition for the British singing show X Factor. He made it past the first round but eventually got cut. Judge Simon Cowell told him to “come back in two years.” As told, Liam returned to audition two years later, in 2010. Again, Liam failed to progress to the next round of the show. However, during the boot camp round, Nicole Scherzinger put together a boyband. This group included Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and of course, Liam Payne. The band became an immediate fan favorite and progressed to finals, where they secured third place. However, their journey was not yet over. The new band, One Direction, debuted its first hit single, “That’s What Makes You Beautiful” in 2011. The song was an immediate hit and brought the artist to rise to fame. This hit was followed by five more hit albums called “Up All Night,” “Take Me Home,” “Midnight Memories,” “Four,” and “Made in the A.M.,” which all debuted at number one. After releasing their album called Four, One Direction was the first band in 58 years to have their first four albums debut at number one. Their “Where We Are” tour was the highest-grossing tour of 2014. In 2015, member Zayn Malik, decided to leave the group, leaving Liam to take over his vocals. Liam Payne was credited with co-writing half of the band’s songs, along with being the band’s top earner, alongside Louis Tomlinson. Since debuting in 2010, One Direction has sold over 70 million records worldwide. This includes 7.6 million albums and 26 million singles in the U.S. This allowed them to become one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. They won seven Brit Awards and seven American Music Awards. The band also won six Nickelodeon Teen Choice Awards —Two in 2013 for Music Group and Favorite Song, two in 2014 for Music Group and Favorite Song, and one in 2015 and 2016 for Music group. In 2015, the band went on a hiatus and never reformed.
His Career: Solo
After the band went on hiatus in 2015, Liam decided to take on a solo career. After signing a label with “Republic Records,” Liam Payne released his solo debut song, “Strip That Down,” which became an immediate hit reaching number ten on Billboard’s Hot 100. The single became a certified Double Platinum in the U.K., and three-time Platinum in the U.S. Following this, in Jan. of 2018, Liam released a song with Rita Ora titled “For You,” which was used in the soundtrack of “Fifty Shades Freed.” The song peaked in multiple countries at the top ten and was certified diamond in Brazil, platinum in the United Kingdom, and received gold or platinum certifications in 13 other countries. Liam then released his first EP called “First Time,” featuring the song “Polaroid.” Jonas Blue and Lennon Stella collaborated on the song with him, and it peaked at number twelve in the U.K., receiving platinum certification. In Oct. 2019, Liam announced his first debut album, “LP1.” The album debuted at number 17 in the U.K. Album Chart and number 111 on the Billboard 200. Liam Payne then released another EP called “Midnight Hour” with Alesso and Christmas single “Naughty List” with Dixie D’Amelio. Following those two releases, he shortly released “Sunshine” from the “Rons Gone Wrong” movie, and announced a second album. He then planned a tour, which got postponed due to hospitalization regarding his kidney. However, Payne returned to music shortly after, with the song “Teardrops.” The song was co-written with NSYNC and JC Chase. It did not hit the charts until after his death this past October of 2024.
His Death and Memorialization
On Oct. 16th, 2024, the famous musician sadly passed away. He fell from his third-floor hotel balcony. Previous to his death, it was made known that his ex-girlfriend had accused him of abuse in their past relationship, as well as his record label dropping him a few days prior. Liam was found by visitors and staff of the hotel smashing things in the main lobby, before passing out and having a seizure. Staff brought him back to his room, leaving him unattended, where he then fell from the balcony. On November 7th, 2024, a hotel worker, drug dealer, and person of close relation to Liam, were charged with Liam’s death, and further investigations are being held. At first, authorities deemed it as suicide. However, it is now being looked into as a tragic accident, or murder. After the news had spread, fans were seen outside his hotel room, blocking the paparazzi from taking pictures of him. They started singing songs and creating a memorial outside the hotel, in honor of Liam. The band’s Instagram, along with each of the boys from the band, posted notes to Liam shortly after his passing. In the past few weeks, Liam’s songs, and the bands’, have reached charts once again. It was news that left the entire fandom in tears. On January 1st, 2025 at midnight, fans are raising a glass to Liam, as a toast to the years he will never get to experience. Liam had a great life, and career, and is very deeply missed by fans, family, and friends. For years to come, fans around the world will reminisce on the memories, making sure he never truly dies, and his soul lives on forever.