Niall Horan breaks silence on Liam Payne's death in heartbreaking One Direction statement

Irish One Direction star Niall Horan has broken his silence on the death of One Direction bandmate and friend Liam Payne after his death in a balcony fall in Argentina this week.

Liam (31) died from multiple injuries after plunging from the third floor of his hotel in Buenos Aires on Wednesday. Liam and Niall, along with Harry Styles, Lous Tomlinson and Zayn Malik first met on X Factor in 2010 where they were placed together as the band One Direction having auditioned individually.

Earlier this month, Payne attended bandmate Niall’s Argentinian concert alongside his girlfriend Kate Cassidy. Harry, Niall, Zayn and Louis released a joint statement on Liam's tragic death on Thursday.

They said: "We're completely devastated by the news of Liam's passing. In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly.

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"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. We will miss him terribly. We love you, Liam."

Niall later posted to his own Instagram account with a beautiful tribute to bandmate Liam where he said he was "devastated" by the death of his "amazing friend."

He wrote: "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.

"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.

"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.

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A post shared by Niall Horan (@niallhoran)

"Thank you for everything, Payno. Love you brother. Nialler."

Tributes have been paid across the globe. Boyzone's Mikey Graham said: "Rip Liam Payne. Such tragic news. I think it would be a wise move for record companies to have psychologists on their books from now on in his memory as a duty of care for the vulnerability of their young talent. Fame can be very damaging especially in today’s world. Lots of money. Nobody to help. Lots of yes people. Nobody honest."

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Former X Factor host Dermot O’Leary, who hosted The X Factor during both of Payne’s appearances, shared a photograph of the pair on stage, captioning the Instagram post: “The worst news”.

“I remember him as a 14-year-old turning up to audition on The X Factor, and blowing us away singing Sinatra. He just loved to sing,” he wrote.

“He was always a joy, had time for everyone, polite, grateful, and was always humble.”

Singer Olly Murs, who starred on The X Factor a year before One Direction, said he was “lost for words”, describing Payne’s death as “devastating” on Instagram.

“We always had a good laugh when we saw each other, sometimes the catch ups were only short and sweet but when we did it was mostly about how annoyingly good his hair always looked, or our love for Becks, the old XF (X Factor) days and the tour we shared together,” Murs wrote beside a picture of the pair.

“Liam shared the same passions as me, the same dreams so to see his life now end so young hits hard, I’m truly gutted and devastated for his family and of course his son Bear losing a dad.”

Liam Payne shot to fame on the X Factor where One Direction was formed by Simon Cowell. The group also featured Ireland's Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles, all of whom auditioned individually.

After becoming one of the biggest pop groups in the world with five albums and four world tours, One Direction went on indefinite hiatus in 2016.

Payne and Girls Aloud singer Cheryl share a son Bear, born in 2017, having been in a high-profile relationship between 2016 and 2018.

The singer first auditioned for The X Factor 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.

He 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.

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.

In 2014 and 2015 they also won 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.

In August last year, Payne postponed his scheduled tour of South America after suffering from a “serious kidney infection”.

He said the infection was something “I wouldn’t wish on anyone” and he had been instructed by doctors to “rest and recover”.

Later last year he was banned from driving in the UK after admitting a speeding offence.

The singer was reportedly travelling at 43mph in a 30mph zone and was banned from driving for six months, as well as paying a fine, in October 2023.

In August this year, Payne was announced as a judge on a new Netflix show alongside former Destiny’s Child singer Kelly Rowland and The Pussycat Dolls star Nicole Scherzinger.

The stars were to judge attempts to create a band, looking at the contestants’ chemistry as they formed groupings in the musical competition series.