The childhood singer, part of the famous One Direction band, Liam Payne, has unfortunately passed away on Oct 16. He was born in 1993 on August 29 to Geoff and Karen Payne, while being the youngest of 3 growing up. He found his passion for music and singing at the early age of five. In 2010, during his second X-Factor competition, Payne was put together with four other promising competitors by two X-factor judges, Nicole Scherzinger and Simon Cowell. The story of One Direction then began, with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, and Liam Payne.
During Payne’s journey in One Direction, he wrote many songs fulfilling his childhood dreams of being a songwriter. Some popular ones include“Story of My Life,” “Steal My Girl,” “Fireproof,” etc. Payne gained many nicknames from Directioners (a nickname for the fans) and band members during this time. He was dubbed “Daddy Direction” by the band members due to his maturity and ability to take on the role as the “leader” of the group. The band won a total of 242 awards from MTV Video Awards to Artist of the Year. Even in present times, One Direction is considered to be one of the top boy bands to ever exist.
As time went on, the group was starting to grow apart from each other. Each member had started to lose a passion for the band. In 2016 the members had announced that the band had officially disbanded.
After the breakup of the band, Payne began his solo career, where he sold over 23 million singles and 3 million albums. In his private life, he was suffering from mental health issues and began using substances.
A few days before his death, he had gone on a two-week vacation with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, to Argentina. Payne’s goal was to reunite with an old friend and ex-bandmate, Niall Horan, at his gig in Movistar Arena. Three days before his death, Payne checked into the deluxe Casa Sur Hotel suite after allegedly being asked to leave his previous hotel. Moments before his death, a 911 call was made by the hotel receptionist who made concerns about Payne being under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The ambulance arrived promptly, but a little late as Liam Payne had already fallen off the third-story balcony. Liam Payne was pronounced dead on October 16.
“Even while being so young when One Direction first made their huge impact the band was still a huge part of my life,” Riyana Padillo, a sophomore at Mark Keppel High School said. “When I first saw on my phone that he had passed away, I did not believe it at first. Every time I hear a One Direction song, I will always think Liam.”
“Even though I wasn’t the biggest fan of the group like others were, it was still a shocking event,” Elcee Ayala, a junior at Mark Keppel High School mentions. “The only time they can get together now will be at his funeral. The name itself did not ring any bells until someone had told me he was from One Direction. It felt weird knowing someone from such a popular band died so young.”
The death of the well-beloved singer changed the perspective of One Direction forever. Fans won’t experience the five being together again, performing hit songs, and doing iconic dance moves. May he rest in peace.
