Niall Horan has shared an emotional tribute to ‘brother’ Liam Payne following his tragic death aged 31, and just days after the pair reunited in Argentina.
The One Direction singer plunged 45ft from the third floor into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires yesterday, prompting a wave of tributes from across the showbiz world.
Niall, 31, the final band member to pay tribute, said in his heartbreaking statement that he didn’t know ‘our recent hug was our final goodbye’.
He penned on Instagram: ‘I’m absolutely devastated about the passing of my amazing friend, Liam. It just doesn’t feel real.
‘Liam had an energy for life and a passion for work that was infectious He was the brightest in ever room and always made everyone feel happy and secure.
‘All the laughs we have over the years, sometimes about the simplest of things, keep coming to mind through the sadness.
Niall Horan has shared an emotional tribute to ‘brother’ Liam Payne after his tragic death aged 31
Niall, the final band member to pay tribute, penned on Instagram: ‘I’m absolutely devastated about the passing of my amazing friend, Liam. It just doesn’t feel real’
‘We got to live out our wildest dreams together and I will cherish every moment we had forever. The bond and friendship we had doesn’t happen often in a lifetime.
The singer, who Liam had seen in concert in Argentina just days before he died, continued: ‘I feel so fortunate that I got to see him recently. I sadly didn’t know that after saying goodbye and hugging him that evening, I would be saying goodbye forever. It’s heartbreaking.
‘My love and condolences go out to Geoff, Karen, Ruth, Nicola and of course his son Bear.
‘Thank you for everything, Payno. Love you brother. Nialler’
Liam had arrived in South America with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy on September 30, staying in Argentina for two weeks after only planning to spend ‘five days’ there.
During their extended trip, Liam was reunited with Niall Horan after going to watch his former bandmate perform at the Movistar Arena, Buenos Aires, on October 2.
A heartbreaking video appeared to show him in high spirits as he wrapped his arm around Kate and tenderly kissed her on the head.
Liam had told his fans they were going to the Latin American country ‘because they want to’ and also because he ‘would like to square up a couple of things’ with his former bandmate.
He took to Snapchat stories and captioned one snap with Niall: ‘Reunited.’
A heartbreaking video shows Liam singing and dancing at Horan’s concert in Argentina just days before he was found dead
Liam’s One Direction bandmates broke their silence following his tragic death on Thursday by releasing an emotional statement.
In a joint statement signed from ‘Louis, Zayn, Niall and Harry’, they said they were ‘completely devastated’.
‘In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say,’ they said.
‘But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly.
‘The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever. For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us.
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Liam Payne's family say they are 'heartbroken' after singer's death aged 31 in Argentina
‘We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam.’
Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik all later released separate tributes.
Styles wrote on Instagram that he was ‘truly devastated’ and will ‘miss him always’.
‘His greatest joy was making other people happy and it was an honour to be alongside him as he did it.
‘Liam lived wide open, with his heart on his sleeve, he had an energy for life that was infectious.
‘He was warm, supportive and incredibly loving. The years we spent together will forever remain among the most cherished years of my life. I will miss him always, my lovely friend.
‘My heart breaks for Karen, Geoff, Nicola and Ruth, his son Bear, and all those around the world who knew him and loved him, as I did.’
Tomlinson said in a separate emotional tribute that he was ‘really struggling with the idea of saying goodbye’.
It came after the band broke their silence to share a joint statement following Liam’s passing, saying they were ‘completely devastated’ by Liam’s death
Harry Styles , Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson (pictured with Liam in 2015) all took to their personal Instagram to tribute to their late ‘brother’, after the band revealed in a statement that they were ‘completely devastated’ by the loss.
He posted a picture on his Instagram page of the two of them on stage with Payne lovingly putting his arm over Tomlinson’s shoulder.
Tomlinson said he would be an uncle to Payne’s son Bear if he ‘ever needs me’ and ‘tell him stories of how amazing his dad was’.
‘I’m so grateful that we got even closer since the band, speaking on the phone for hours, reminiscing about all the thousands of amazing memories we had together is a luxury I thought I’d have with you for life,’ he wrote.
‘I would have loved to share the stage with you again but it wasn’t to be.
‘I wish I got chance to say goodbye and tell you one more time how much I loved you.
‘Payno, my boy, one of my best friends, my brother, I love you mate. Sleep well X.’
Malik said he had been talking out loud to Payne ‘hoping you can hear me’.
In his own heart wrenching tribute, he said he had ‘lost a brother when you left us’.
‘And I can’t explain you you what I’d give to just give you a hug one last time and say goodbye to you properly and tell you that I loved and respected you dearly,’ he wrote.
‘I will cherish all the memories I have with you in my heart forever. There is no words that justify or explain how I feel right now other than beyond devastated. I hope that wherevere you are right now you are good and are at peace and you know how loved you are. Love you bro.’
Liam’s solo career came off the back of global stardom that began with ITV talent show, The X Factor.
He first auditioned for the show in 2008 at the age of 14 singing Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me To The Moon, with judge Simon Cowell telling him to return to the ITV talent show two years later.
Liam impressed the judges in 2010 singing Michael Buble ‘s rendition of Cry Me A River before he was put with four other solo hopefuls at the boot camp stage of the competition – the group which later became One Direction.
Harry posted a photo of Liam on stage performing to a huge arena of fans alongside his heartbreaking tribute
The singer took to Instagram to share his own emotional message to his pal, who he described as ‘warm, supportive and incredibly loving’
Harry (pictured with Liam in 2013) wrote: ‘My heart breaks for Karen Geoff, Nicola and Ruth, his son Bear and all those around the world who knew and loved him as I did’
In a statement shared to Instagram, Louis said he was ‘beyond devastated’ by his friend’s death (pictured together in 2015)
Louis also shared snaps of the pair as they larked about together on stage saying he would always be Liam’s ‘big brother’
Another selection of photos showed how close the pair were
In a statement shared to Instagram, Louis said he was ‘beyond devastated’ by his friend’s death, and said that he will ‘always be an uncle’ for the late singer’s eight-year-old son Bear
In his tribute, Zayn wrote: ‘I lost a brother when you left us and can’t explain to you what I’d give to just give you a hug one last time’
In 2012, the boy band won their first Brit Award for best British single for their debut track What Makes You Beautiful, before picking up the Brit global success award a year later.
They also won Brit Awards in 2014 and 2015 for best British video for Best Song Ever and You & I respectively.
After Malik left the band, the quartet won best artist video for Drag Me Down in 2016. They picked up the same award a year later for History.
Launching his solo career after One Direction split up in January 2016, Payne released his first single Strip That Down featuring Quavo just over a year later in June 2017.
The single charted at number three while his second single was Get Low, which peaked at 26.
His third single, Bedroom Floor, went to number 21.
He then teamed up with singer Rita Ora for a hit, For You, which was the soundtrack to Fifty Shades Freed in 2018 and that was more successful – making it to number eight in the charts.
Then came Familiar with Colombian superstar J Balvin , which went to number 14.
He also released an album, LP1, which went to number 17 in December 2019.
Liam was managed by music industry veteran Steve Finan, the husband of Olympic heptathlete Denise Lewis.
In August last year, Payne postponed his scheduled tour of South America after suffering from a ‘serious kidney infection’.
Payne in a selfie he shared from Argentina hours before his tragic death
Payne said he was ‘happy to have some time away’ less than an hour before he fell to his death
Fans of Liam Payne lit candles next to the hotel where he died in Buenos Aires on Wednesday
Liam plunged 45ft from the third floor into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in Argentina’s capital on Wednesday, before medics confirmed his death.
Payne had arrived in South America with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy on September 30, staying in Argentina for two weeks after only planning to spend ‘five days’ there .
Police were called to the hotel following reports of an ‘aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol’.
Shortly afterwards, workers heard a loud sound in the hotel’s courtyard before the Wolverhampton-born singer’s body was discovered just after 5pm local time.
Shocked fans gathered outside after police cordoned off the area with forensic investigators seen entering and exiting in white protective suits and blue gloves.
The star was said to have been ‘acting erratically in the hotel lobby and smashed his laptop’ before he ‘had to be carried back to his room’, according to local media.
Universal Music Group no longer lists Liam as one of their artists.
Capitol Records still looks after Niall, 31, as well as Katy Perry and Lewis Capaldi.
Universal has been contacted for comment.