- BGT auditions were set to be held in Blackpool
- Cowell signed Payne to Syco Entertainment after the singer finished in third place in the competition as part of One Direction
- The music mogul has received significant backlash online in the wake of Payne’s untimely death
Simon Cowell has postponed auditions for the new season of Britain’s Got Talent in the wake of the tragic passing of former One Direction member Liam Payne.
Payne, who died at the age of 31 following a fall from a third floor balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, yesterday, was a contestant on Cowell’s X-Factor twice. First at the age of 14 and then again at 16, when he would go onto finish in third place as part of One Direction. A year later, in 2011, Payne would be catapulted to superstardom with the release of the band’s debut album ‘Up All Night’, which topped the charts in 16 countries and sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide.
One Direction, which featured Payne alongside Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson, sold over 70 million albums worldwide during their meteoric rise to pop superstardom between 2010 and 2016. They undertook four world tours together, two of which were solely stadium shows, before going on indefinite hiatus in 2016.
Today’s Britain’s Got Talent auditions were due to take place in Blackpool, but were postponed following the news of Payne’s fatal fall. In a statement, Applause store, who organised the tickets for filming, announced: “Due to the tragic passing of Liam Payne, BGT has decided to postpone today’s auditions in Blackpool. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.”
At the time of writing, Cowell is yet to issue a statement or any kind of comment or tribute to Payne. However, there are more than a few One Direction fans who do not want to hear from the Syco founder at all, placing the blame for a lot of the personal problems that plagued Payne during the last few years firmly on the X Factor creator.
Cowell, 65, has long been a divisive figure in the entertainment industry. He has been both heralded as one of the most influential figures in the music business as well as one of the most prominent TV personalities and creators of the 21st century. However, he has also been consistently criticised by many for exploitative behaviour, especially through shows such as X-Factor and Britain’s Got Talent.
