According to Reuters on the evening of October 16 local time (morning of October 17 Hanoi time), Liam Payne, 31 years old, died after falling from a height of 13 to 14 meters with “very serious, life-threatening injuries”. Previously, the emergency facility received a report of a man “behaving erratically, possibly under the influence of drugs”.

Many fans were surprised by Liam Payne’s death and sent their condolences on his personal page. They said they grew up listening to One Direction (1D) songs and liked Liam Payne since they were young, so they didn’t believe he had passed away. Some people left comments: “Rest in peace, Liam. My teenage self came here to say goodbye to you, with a broken heart”, “Rest in peace, a part of my childhood”, “Liam’s songs helped me get through a dark period and I still support him now”.

Several artists, including Charlie Puth, Paris Hilton and Ty Dolla $ign, posted tributes to Liam. Puth wrote on his Instagram Story : “Liam was always so good to me. He was one of the first big artists I had the chance to work with. Can’t believe he’s gone.” The Attention singer then posted a video of himself and Liam, along with a photo of the two of them together, with the caption: “Rest in peace.”

Liam Payne was born in 1993 in Wolverhampton, England. The singer grew up in a modest but happy family, with his father working as a fitter and his mother working as a nurse. In an interview with the Telegraph , Liam said that despite his family’s financial situation and debt, his parents tried to give him a good life.

In 2008, Liam entered the music competition The X Factor. , believing that success in the music industry would make his parents proud. However, judge and producer Simon Cowell advised him to return two years later. In 2010, he returned to the show and was placed in the One Direction lineup alongside Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson – marking a life-changing milestone.

After finishing third in the finals, the band signed with Simon Cowell’s record label, Syco Entertainment. In September 2011, One Direction released their debut single, What Makes You Beautiful, which topped the UK charts. The group had a large fan base upon their debut, with the media comparing their appeal to that of the Beatles (Beatlemania). To date, 1D have sold over 70 million albums worldwide, making them one of the biggest boy bands of all time.

Speaking to Teen Vogue in 2017, Liam Payne described his time in the band as “going to college,” full of great memories. But in a 2020 interview with the Telegraph , he admitted to being exhausted and claustrophobic. He said there was a time when fans surrounded his home and he couldn’t go outside, leading to cabin fever.

“I remember there were about 10,000 people outside our hotel. We couldn’t go anywhere, we could only move from one show to another. I couldn’t sleep because they were all gathered outside,” Liam said.

The singer said his anger at the complications of fame reached a boiling point in 2012, when a paparazzi accidentally knocked his mother over as the family walked to a restaurant in New York. “I was so angry. There were paparazzi there and I just wanted to have a burger with my parents. I cried my eyes out and thought, ‘I can’t do this anymore’ and I really hated my life,” he told the Telegraph .

In 2015, Zayn Malik announced his departure from the group and Liam Payne replaced Malik on the tenor vocals. However, 1D was put on indefinite hiatus a few months later and the band went on hiatus in 2016. All members pursued solo careers.

In 2017, Liam released his debut single Strip That Down – a collaboration with Ed Sheeran. This is also the title track of his first and only solo album – LP1 – released in 2019. Critics did not appreciate the song, saying that Liam “struggles to assert his own artistic identity”. However, the song ranked 10th on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. In March, he released the single Teardrops – the last recording of his life.

According to Billboard , Liam initially didn’t want to be a solo artist, intending to be a musician. However, he realized he had been singing since he was 14, and felt “foolish” to give it up. “Since leaving the group, we’ve had some good opportunities to grow. I needed to do something to succeed,” he told the news outlet in 2017.

Speaking to the Guardian in 2019, Liam Payne revealed that he felt disoriented when the band split up and had to undergo therapy for two years. “It was difficult at first because I didn’t understand myself. I felt paralyzed,” he said. In the same interview, Liam said he used alcohol and anti-epileptic drugs to stabilize his mood and combat “mental swings” when the band was at its peak.

The singer had a period of alcoholism that required him to go to rehab. In June 2022, he angered 1D fans by making negative comments about Zayn Malik on Logan Paul’s podcast, telling a story about getting into a fight with an unnamed member backstage. Liam later posted a YouTube video apologizing to fans and announcing his alcohol rehab. In May 2023, he celebrated 100 days of sobriety, saying he had more control over his life.

In terms of personal life, Liam’s relationship with X Factor judge Cheryl Tweedy has been scrutinized by the public due to their age difference. The two first met at the show’s audition and were rumored to be dating in 2016, when Liam was 23 and Cheryl was 33. In 2017, the couple welcomed their first child and announced their separation a year later.

He dated model Maya Henry in 2019 and got engaged in August 2020. The relationship was on and off until 2022. Before his death, he was in a two-year relationship with influencer Kate Cassidy.