Liam Payne, the former member of the iconic boyband One Direction, passed away on Wednesday in Argentina. Argentine police reported that Payne was found on the grounds of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires after a fall from the balcony of his hotel room, on the third floor.
Officers were initially at the scene responding to reports of an “aggressive man who may have been under the effects of drugs and alcohol".
It is unclear whether the two incidents are related.
Just weeks prior to his passing, Payne was spotted attending a concert by his former bandmate, Niall Horan, in Argentina, on October 2.
He had been in the country with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy.
Payne is survived by his parents Karen and Geoff Payne, two older sisters, Ruth Gibbins and Nicole Payne, and his 7-year-old son Bear, who he shares with former X Factor judge Cheryl Cole.
About Liam Payne
Liam James Payne was born in Wolverhampton, England on August 29, 1993. He was the youngest of three siblings.
He gained fame when he appeared on popular British televison show The X Factor in 2008, where the judges asked him to come back two years later.
He returned to the show in 2010, when guest judge Nicole Scherzinger suggested forming a boy band which would include Payne, Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik, who were also contestants at the time.
The group became a global sensation with the release of their debut single What Makes You Beautiful.
They attained commercial success, selling out mutiple shows after the release of their debut album in 2012, which topped charts in the U.S.
Their most popular songs include Night Changes, Steal My Girl, Best Song Ever and Story of My Life.
In March 2015, his bandmate Malik announced his departure from the band, which led to the band's eventual hiatus in December 2015, after a total of five albums and 109 songs.
All five members went on to release solo albums, with Payne releasing his—LP1—in 2019.
Though there were talks of a reunion, the five members never performed together on stage again.
