1 of 4 | Tributes poured in for Liam Payne following his death Wednesday in Buenos Aires. File Photo by Rune Hellestad/UPI | License Photo
Oct. 17 (UPI) — Liam Payne‘s family and friends shared tributes to the former One Direction member following his death Wednesday in Buenos Aires.
Payne, 31, fell from a hotel balcony in the Argentine capital.
“Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul,” his family said in a statement. “We are supporting each other the best we can as a family and ask for privacy and space at this awful time.”
Celebrities Charlie Puth, Paris Hilton, Mabel, and Zedd had earlier expressed their devastation on social media.
Tributes continued pouring in Thursday morning.
Dermot O’Leary, host of The X Factor when One Direction was formed on the British singing competition in 2010, described Payne’s passing as “the worst news.”
“I remember him as a 14 year old turning up to audition on The X Factor, and blowing us away singing Sinatra,” O’Leary said. “He just loved to sing.”
He added, “He was always a joy, had time for everyone, polite, grateful, and was always humble.”
Payne and the other members of One Direction had appeared in Season 7 of the show.
While he was recently in Argentina, Payne attended a concert put on by former One Direction member Niall Horan.
Horan’s brother, Greg, posted about his devastation on Instagram.
“To say I’m heartbroken is an understatement,” he wrote. “A weird feeling this morning and all night…”
The other former members of One Direction — Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson — have not yet shared their reactions to their bandmate’s passing.
Anne Twist, mother to Styles, captioned an Instagram post, “Just a boy.”
Olly Murs, who had also appeared on The X Factor, said that he was “lost for words.”
“We always had a good laugh when we saw each other,” he wrote on social media. “Sometimes the catch ups were only short and sweet but when we did it was mostly about how annoyingly good his hair always looked, or our love for Becks, the old XF days and the tour we shared together.”
“Liam shared the same passions as me, the same dreams,” he continued. “So to see his life now end so young hits hard. I’m truly gutted and devastated for his family and of course his son Bear losing a dad…”
ITV, the home network of The X Factor, said Payne’s death was “a tragic loss to everyone who knew him personally, and to the global fanbase who took One Direction to their hearts.”
Payne is survived by his parents and two sisters, along with Bear, his 7-year-old son with singer Cheryl Cole.
Left to right, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Harry Styles, of One Direction, perform on NBC’s “Today” at Rockefeller Center in New York City on March 12, 2012. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
