A loud stadium of loyal fans surrounded one of the most famous bands of all time, One Direction, yet this fame for a particular member turned into a silent end in a hotel.
Liam Payne, most notable for being a member of the disbanded boy band, One Direction, unfortunately passed away on Oct. 16, 2024. At the young age of 31, Payne died by falling off the third floor of a hotel balcony in Argentina.
“I was doing weights on the pool deck at practice,” said One Direction fan Chelsea Phillips ‘26. “My friends texted me saying, ‘Liam died. How are you doing?’. I froze, and my heart completely stopped. I started sobbing, and I thought ‘This couldn’t have happened.’”
One Direction consisted of musicians Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn and Liam Payne. During the 2010s, they were one of the most popular bands. The band was considered a modern version of the Beatles, due to their origin in Britain yet impactful influence and obsessive fan base in the United States.
“I grew up with them, and I became a super fan in 2018,” said One Direction enthusiast Paisley Widmer ‘25. “I went totally parasocial (a one-sided relationship where one doesn’t know of one’s existence) for One Direction.”
In 2010, the band was initially formed during the X-Factor competition in London. At the time of the formation, Payne was only 16. The judges believed they would have more talent as a group, for the future bandmates originally competed individually.
“I don’t think we realized how much [Payne] mattered to One Direction,” said Phillips. “He carried them through X factor. I think we should thank him for that.”
Although the band only placed third place, this show kicked off the band’s career. Their debut single, “What Makes You Beautiful”, which came out only a year after the group’s formation, reached No. 1 on the UK Billboard charts. One Direction’s debut album, Up All Night reached No.1 on Billboard 200 shortly after.
“I started becoming a fan in 8th grade, or mostly middle school,” said Phillips. “I found Harry Styles first, and then One Direction came along with that.”
In 2016, the band separated and the members started solo careers. Payne had somewhat of a success, with his most recent song being “Teardrops”, which came out in March 2024. The song currently only has 10 million streams on Spotify compared to One Direction’s “Night Changes” with a staggering 1.8 billion streams on Spotify. Payne had trouble trying to get to the level of his past success and had issues gaining traction.
“I listened to Liam’s music,” said Phillips.“If he was going to go on a tour, I probably would have gone at that point because I’ve seen Louis and Niall live. They were great. I [would have wanted to] see any of them.”
Payne, who struggled with mental health and substance abuse, faced hardship with gaining fame at such a young age. Payne was facing criticism for being abusive in a past relationship and was allegedly dropped by his record label just days before his passing.
“Staff at the hotel had requested urgent police assistance shortly before Payne’s death Wednesday, according to an emergency call,” stated cnn.com.
Payne fell and faced multiple fatal injuries, such as brain trauma and internal bleeding. At the time of his death, Payne was believed to be alone and potentially having a relapse due to his own personal problems.
“It was so out of nowhere, although he was dealing with so much stuff,” said Phillips. “I wish we could’ve helped him in a way.”
As the news of Payne’s passing became public, fans poured in flocks. They fled to his residences and the hotel at which the incident occurred. Payne’s dad made a public visit to the hotel, where he thanked fans for their support and even looked at one of the hotel’s balconies.
“I still can’t even believe it,” said Phillips. “Especially seeing the posts Harry, Niall, Zayn and Louis made.”
The former members of One Direction made a joint statement on One Direction’s Instagram account which spoke about their devastation towards Payne’s death. Later, many individual members of the band stated their own personalized messages and words about Liam. They shared their connection to Payne and the personality Payne possessed.
“It makes you realize, [not to] take people or things for granted because you never know what’s going to happen,” said Phillips.
