What is like the first time that a musician from your generation dies? Our parents remember musicians like Elvis Presley, John Lennon, and Jerry Garcia – and for Millennials and Gen Z, they got their first taste of that on October 16th when One Direction member Liam Payne tragically died at the age of 31, after falling from his third story hotel room balcony in Argentina. One Direction fans who hadn’t spoken to each other in years, revived their Twitter (now X) accounts, posting on Threads, and began to read the plethora of articles written about Payne since his death was announced. Grieving both literally and digitally through social media, fans can’t believe he is gone. Neither can I, as I’ve been following the band since 2012. I started this blog during the band’s explosion in America. As a then aspiring journalist, their rise was something unlike I’d ever seen before. I had heard of the musical greats of my parents generation who had passed and their impact, and while I was slightly out of One Direction’s demographic, none of the bands I grew up with had ever reached the level of fame that One Direction did. Groups like One Direction and their unprecedented fame had been something of the past, not for a band that was performing during my lifetime.
Selling millions of records, playing hundreds of shows, and raking in the most money of all boy bands before them, at their peak in 2014, it was projected that the group would go on to become the first billion dollar boyband, though South Korean boyband BTS, would take this accomplishment a few years later. While all the members could sing, throughout their short history it was Liam Payne who would be named the most gifted out of the five members, both vocally and musically.
Auditioning for Britain’s X Factor at the age of 14, with an impressive rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me To The Moon,”, (only to get kicked out of the competition later on,) Payne came back two years later singing Ella Fitzgerald’s “Cry Me A River,” getting a standing ovation from not only the judges, but the audience. While none of the members of One Direction were good enough at the time to have a solo career, it was the decision of judge Nicole Scherzinger to put all of them into a boyband. Throughout his childhood, Liam’s father Geoff encouraged any and all ambition and believed that one day his son could be a star. By the time of his second audition, no one knew just exactly how big Liam would get. At this point, boy bands felt like a thing of the past and something that had been done before. If the idea to put five unknown singers together in a group hadn’t been brought up by Scherzinger, the concept of the boyband would be long dead. While the idea of the boyband proved to be popular in the 1990’s, the lack of evolvement musically led most bands to shrink in popularity. Typically lasting around five years, the group doesn’t mature and the fans grow up.
However, with One Direction this wasn’t the case. With every record the sound grew older, creating and creating a community that allowed fans to feel like they were part of the experience. The music had more of an archaic edge to it, with hints of an influence from bands like Queen and more guitar driven songs, elements that N’sync and Backstreet Boys didn’t include in their music. With maturity, came more control, with each member having more say over the musicality of their songs, leaving fans more dedicated with each release.
The group would go one to sell millions of records and become one of the most successful bands of all time thanks to not only the people around them, but also their fans, who devoted their lives to the group at an almost obsessive pace. In order to keep “the boys” as they were known by the fans and media, in front of the public, they would release a record, go on tour, and while on tour they would record for the next record. Like clock work, every November fans would get new music just in time for the holidays. Being nearly mobbed at every turn, they would often be forced to stay inside their hotel rooms, where Liam Payne would later say in interviews that he spent a lot of time drinking from the mini bar. His struggles with depression, alcohol, and drugs, were no surprise to fans, as Payne had been open about his journey. After One Direction called it quits with a hiatus in 2015, all the members of the group would go on to have successful solo careers, and while Payne started off that way, over time, it seems that he struggled with being alone both on and off the stage. His debut (and only album) LP 1 didn’t do well and his latest single “Teardrops” got little fanfare. Despite these shortcoming, Payne’s musical skill came out in full force for those who were willing to look a but deeper into his talents.
Throughout his time in the band, Liam would often start off each song, share producing credits, co-write songs and even remix the band’s tracks, most notably with his reworking of the band’s ballad “You and I” off of their 2014 LP Midnight Memories. Knowing this about him, fans and journalists covering the musical side of Payne, have wondered what he would have gone on to do if given the chance. For me, I always felt that his R&B inspired sound was the wrong choice and perhaps he could have released songs with more of a jazz influence, given his X Factor audition choices. Would he have worked as a producer or songwriter and given up performing entirely? It’s been noted that he believed his greatest ambition in life was to be a father, something he achieved at the age of 23 when his then partner Cheryl Cole gave birth to their now seven year old son Bear. Looking back, there were moments where it felt like he was pushed to try and continue the momentum that he had with One Direction, something that is difficult to achieve on your own. Doing this seemed to be a lonely road, as what he turned to proved to be lethal. Days before his death, his record label dropped him, leaving his upcoming album shelved, and his career up in the air. Hours before his death, it was said he was working on a reworked version of the band’s track “Fireproof,” his favorite One Direction song. As of this writing, his death is still being investigated.
Since his death, there has been renewed discussion of only working with young people who have reached the age of adulthood and the duty that shows like X Factor have to prepare it’s youngest contestants from the fame that may await them. Payne fans in the UK have started a petition on change.org for UK lawmakers to enact legislation to safeguard young artists in the music industry, titled “Liam’s Law,” As of this week it has 96,000 signatures.
Liam Payne was an artist taken far too soon. Wherever he is, I hope he is singing in peace and at rest. Fly high, Liam. We will miss you.
