Updated October 17, 2024 at 13:00 PM ET
Liam Payne, a singer who rose to fame as a member of the chart-topping boy band One Direction, has died while in Buenos Aires, according to a statement from local officials. He was 31.
Argentina鈥檚 National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor鈥檚 Office No. 16 issued a statement to NPR in Spanish saying that Payne died on Wednesday from injuries sustained after falling from the third story window of Casa Sur Hotel in the Palermo neighborhood of the Argentine capital. It states police were dispatched after receiving an emergency call about 鈥渁 guest under the influence of drugs or alcohol who had destroyed some of the objects of the room.鈥� When they arrived, Payne had already fallen, police and medical personnel say.
Officials say they are still speaking to witnesses who were with Payne in the hours leading up to the fall and are continuing to investigate the events that led to his death. NPR reached out to representatives for Payne but has not received a response.
Across five albums released in the 2010s, One Direction became a global phenomenon. Sustained by singles like "Live While We鈥檙e Young" and "Best Song Ever," the quintet charted a course from reality show runners-up to full-on teen fixation.
Payne was born in 1993 in Wolverhampton, England. He first auditioned for The X Factor UK in 2008 but was not chosen to move forward by judge Simon Cowell. He returned in 2010.
鈥淚 do think Simon did the right thing and I wasn鈥檛 ready,鈥� he as he introduced himself to the judges onstage. 鈥淣ow I鈥檓 16, and I鈥檓 back and I鈥檓 ready to give it another shot.鈥�
He then launched into a cover of Michael Buble鈥檚 rendition of 鈥淐ry Me A River.鈥� His second attempt at entering the reality TV contest earned him roaring applause, but Payne was almost eliminated in subsequent rounds. Instead of being sent home, he was selected to form a group with four other boys who also would not be moving forward in solo categories: Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson. Styles suggested a name and it stuck.
At the turn of the millennium, the boy band stood at the center of the pop zeitgeist, but a decade later, when Payne and his bandmates emerged from the reality competition, the format had lost much of its luster. One Direction caught on almost immediately in the U.K. and the U.S., with the group's classic rock-influenced debut single "What Makes You Beautiful," breathing new life into model.
With 2014鈥檚 Four, the boy band made history as the first group to have its first four albums 鈥� all released between 2012 and 2014 鈥� go to No. 1 on the Billboard 200. In 2014 they also had the highest grossing tour of the year, which became . The band amassed a devoted following during its run and helped to open the door for other international acts that would follow, like BTS.
After Malik left the group in 2015, One Direction released one final album, Made in the A.M., as a quartet before going on an indefinite hiatus in 2016. When the group later won the Video of the Year award at the 2017 Brit Awards for their song "History," Payne was the only member in attendance. Standing alongside Cowell he said, 鈥淭he sheer devotion that our fans have shown online for this is absolutely amazing. We鈥檝e been taking a bit of time working on our solo material, but One Direction is who we are and it鈥檚 who we always will be.鈥�
As the members split off to pursue solo careers, Payne was the third to make his debut: The album, LP1, was released in 2019 and spawned a handful of popular singles, including 鈥淪trip That Down鈥� with the Migos frontman Quavo and 鈥淔or You鈥� with English singer Rita Ora. It was his only album; in 2023, Payne revealed to Rolling Stone that he was working on a follow-up, and he released the single, "Teardrops" in March.
In a posted to his YouTube page in 2023, Payne opened up about his struggle with alcoholism and his sobriety and detailed his decision to join a treatment program in Louisiana, where he spent several months. 鈥淓ver since then, I鈥檝e just been trying to get to know this new guy,鈥� he said, signaling himself.
Payne is survived by a 7-year-old son, his parents and two sisters.
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