Liam Payne, former member of boy band One Direction, dies in Argentina

British musician Liam Payne, former member of boy band One Direction, has died eacute; Wednesday at the age of 31 after falling from the third floor of a Buenos Aires hotel, police said, causing deep shock to millions of fans around the world. .

“Liam James Payne, songwriter and guitarist, former member of the group One Direction, died today after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Palermo,” a district of the Argentine capital, police said in a statement.

Police responded to “a call to 911 (the emergency number) reporting an aggressive man who may have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” the statement continued.

A few minutes after the announcement of the British singer's death, many fans and curious onlookers gathered silently in front of the door of the “Casa Sur” hotel where the death was pronounced, under the surveillance of a dozen police officers.

“I am in shock, I can't believe it. I live five blocks away and I have “I thought I had to be there,” Martina Di Lalla, 23, who said she was a One Direction fan as a teenager, told AFP.

“I feel like it's a part of my teenage years that's been lost,” said Lena Duek, 21, who said the band's melodies had accompanied her from the ages of 12 to 16, and that she hoped One Direction would reform one day.

– Open investigation –

Liam Payne was one of the members of the boy band formed in 2010, along with Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Harry Styles, which enjoyed meteoric success.

Fans and curious onlookers gathered outside the Buenos Aires hotel where the death of former British boy band One Direction member Liam Payne was pronounced at the age of 31, on October 16, 2024 © AFP – JUAN MABROMATA

The announcement in 2016 of a break in the band's career, never made official as a separation, had upset millions of fans.

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According to the head of emergency services, Alberto Crescenti, Liam Payne had “very serious injuries following his fall”. “We pronounced him dead, there was no possibility of resuscitation,” he said on local television.

He said that help was called at 5:04 p.m. local time (8:04 p.m. GMT) and that a medical team arrived seven minutes later but could only “confirm the man's death” before discovering “later that he was a singer in a band.”

An investigation into the cause of death has been opened.

According to Billboard magazine, Liam Payne had attended a concert by ex-One Direction member Niall Horan in Buenos Aires on October 2.

Reactions from celebrities began to pour in on social media.

“So devastated by the news of Liam Payne's passing. Love and condolences to his family and loved ones. RIP my friend,” wrote the former model and singer Paris Hilton on X.

– Alcohol problems –

One Direction is a product of the television show “The X Factor”, which later became one of the most lucrative boy bands in the world.

The group with its fairly smooth and light pop released in 2016, as every year since 2011, its fifth and final studio album, “Made in the A.M”.

The same year, the members of the group, then all in their twenties, announced that they were taking an indefinite break while ensuring that they wanted to continue. They have never reunited on stage or in the studio since.

Liam Payne later announced that he was working on a solo album, following in the footsteps of other members of the band.

His solo single, “Strip that Down”, peaked at number three in the UK charts and number ten on the US Billboard Top Songs list. In December 2019 he released his first solo album “LP1”.

Born August 29, 1993 in Wolverhampton, Liam Payne is the author of several songs in the One Direction discography.

In recent years, Liam Payne has openly spoken about his problems with alcoholism and the difficulties associated with fame.

In a 2023 video published on his YouTube account, he admitted to having been admitted to a detox center for his alcohol addiction: “I kind of became someone I didn't really recognize anymore. And I'm sure you don't recognize him either,” he said at the time.

Last year, he announced that he was working on a second album and had just released a new single in March 2024.

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