- The 31-year-old was reported dead after falling from a balcony on the third floor of a Buenos Aires hotel
- Payne had posted to Snapchat several times only an hour before his death
- Charlie Puth has led the tributes on social media after the news broke
Following the news that former One Direction member Liam Payne has died at the age of 31, tributes have begun to pour in for the singer, who is reported to have fallen from a third floor balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Payne’s Snapchat had been updating with multiple posts only shortly before his death was announced, although the posts have since been deleted from the platform.
The 31-year-old shot to superstardom in 2010 after forming One Direction on that year’s series of the X-Factor, eventually finishing in third place in the competition. Shortly after Payne, along with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson signed with Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment and, within a year, were celebrating chart topping success in both the single and album charts across the globe with ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ and ‘Up All Night’ respectively.
Tributes have been pouring in for Payne, with singer-songwriter Charlie Puth taking to Instagram to share memories of his friendship with the One Direction star.
As well as the picture shared on his Instagram feed, Puth also took to his story, saying, “I am in shock right now. Liam was always so kind to me. He was one of the first major artists I got to work with. I cannot believe he is gone. I am so upset right now. May he rest in peace” Puth included a video of him and Payne together and another of Payne talking about his and Puth’s friendship during a radio appearance.
Paris Hilton also tweeted her sympathies for Payne’s family, saying, “So upsetting to hear the news of@LiamPayne passing. Sending love and condolences to his family & loved ones. RIP my friend.”
Payne’s fellow X-Factor alumni Olly Murs, presenter Dermot O’Leary, Rylan Clark and Jedward were also quick to offer their support for the bereaved after the shocking news broke out of Buenos Aires.
Rylan was also quick to send a message to gossip outlet TMZ, who published photos of parts of Payne’s dead body in the immediate aftermath of the news breaking.
The mother of Harry Styles, Payne’s One Direction bandmate, also took to Instagram to share her heartbreak at the 31-year-old’s untimely, tragic passing.
Payne had seven-year-old son Bear with ex-partner Cheryl Tweedy, who had been one of the judges on the X-Factor when Payne was a contestant.
We will have more on this story as it continues to develop.
