Over time, the singer has opened up about his time with the boy band and relationships with his former bandmates — and he recently shared his hopes of reconnecting with a member before his death.
Liam Payne journey with A route has had many ups and downs – with the late star having spoken out several times over the years about his experience with the beloved boy band before his tragic death.
The 5 members of the giant group – Payne, Harry Types, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinsonand Zayn Malik – were brought together in the 2010 version of The X question in the UK, peaking at number three before being signed by Simon Cowell and catapulting to stardom.
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The band has taken the world by storm, amassing one of the largest and most passionate fan bases and releasing five albums. And despite Malik leaving the band in 2015, and One Route going on indefinite hiatus in 2016, Directioners have always held out hope that they could one day see a reunion.
Instead, they cried alongside Payne’s bandmates after the singer delivered at the age of 31, on October 16, after falling from the third-floor balcony of CasaSur Palermo Lodge, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Following the heartbreaking information, Kinds, Horan, Tomlinson and Malik launched a joint campaign affirmation on social media.
“We are completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing. Over time, and when everyone is ready, there will be more to say,” the statement said. “But for now we will take a while to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved very much. The reminiscences we shared with him will be cherished in perpetuity. For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends and the fans who enjoyed him by our side. We will miss him very much. We love you Liam. Louis, Zayn, Niall and Harry.”
Tomlinson and Malik also shared individual tributes. Learn them right here.
After his devastating death, VeryFab is looking back at Payne’s history with One Route, including what he said about his experience with the boy band and his former bandmates, and the hope he had to reconnect with a member before his death.
May 2017: 1D “Great Time” slams Zayn’s criticism
Over a look at A Strange Life with Dan Wootton In May 2017, Payne shared that he I didn’t perceive why Malik spoke badly about his time at One Route after his departure.
“It’s extremely unfortunate because One Route was a wonderful, wonderful moment in all of our lives. It was like university, but on steroids,” he said at the time. “It was crazy. It was crazy. It was really fun. I don’t understand how someone can come out of this situation and say the things he usually says. It doesn’t make any sense to me, but there it is.
June 2019: Dark days at the top of fame
Payne opened up about the struggles he faced while being a member of One Route. In an interview with Men’s Wellbeing in Australia For his July 2019 feature, the singer recalled the dark days during the height of the band’s fame, saying he drank to manage.
“When you’re doing lots and lots of (shows) and it’s the same 22 songs at the same time every day, even if you don’t feel comfortable, you have to go to the grocery store,” Payne said.
“It’s almost like putting on the Disney costume before going on stage, and underneath the Disney costume, I would get upset a lot of times because there was no other way to understand what was going on,” he continued. “I want to say it was fun. We had a lot of fun, but there were certain elements where it got a little poisonous.
Payne also appeared again competing in The X question. He was just 14 years old when he first auditioned. Two years later, he was placed on One Route.
“It was actually the right storm. There were so many eventualities that needed to align for this to happen. It’s not something that can simply be recreated or likely to be recreated because of the way the Web started, the way it The X question it started. I simply assume it was pure luck.
The “Strip That Down” singer also opened up about how being in the band has impacted his mental health.
“It’s hard to have the level of fame we had in the band,” Payne said. “There have been a lot of people with mental health issues who aren’t really getting the assistance they want, and I think that’s a bit of a problem in our business.”
“It’s the same thing that happens to everyone, which has been happening since the 70s,” he added. “what the pitfalls are and if you’re lucky enough, like me, to be able to get out of that situation and get back to normality, then you realize it’s a little different.”
See more about Payne’s past struggles with mental health at the link below.
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July 2022: Publicly destroy 1D, Zayn
Payne’s most notorious comments about One Route came during an interview with Logan Paul, in which he appeared on his Impulsive podcast.
The pop star destroyed the boy bandand even claimed it was built around it, which later led The X question to debunk your statement with video proof.
During the interview, Payne also criticized his former bandmate, Zayn Malik, sharing his thoughts on the “Pillowtalk” singer after Paul started a fight between Malik, Gigi Hadid and Logan’s brother Jake, who then referenced to Malik’s alleged fight with Iolanda Hadid.
“There are a lot of reasons why I don’t like Zayn and there are a lot of reasons why I will always, always be by his side,” Payne said. “If I had to go through what he went through – along with his progress and everything… My parents are very supportive of the point, which is sometimes annoying. Zayn had a distinct upbringing in that sense.”
“Pay attention, I don’t agree with any of your actions. I can’t praise some of the things he did. I can’t be by his side for that,” he added. What I can say is that I understand and your only hope is that in the future of your life, the person on the other end of the phone wants to receive the help you are willing to offer.
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Payne also criticized Louis Tomlinson, saying he had a wild and rebellious spirit that always caused them to butt heads.
“I wasn’t used to rowdy guys and nothing like that. …Louis was wild and (he was) wanting to be wild, that’s his spirit, and also he’s my best friend now, but within the band we hated each other. Like, to go back to fighting – they hated each other,” he said.
Without naming names, Payne further stated that issues escalated to physicality with one of the guys, with one member allegedly throwing him against a wall backstage. “I told him, ‘If you don’t remove those hands, there’s a good chance you’ll never use them again,’” Payne told Paul.
February 2023: Celebrates Kinds’ Grammy win
In 2023, Payne congratulated his former bandmate Harry Kinds after receiving two Grammys, including Album of the Year, for Harry’s House.
Payne took to Instagram, sharing a celebratory post paying tribute to Kinds.
Alongside a photo of Kinds on stage looking at their trophy following their Album of the Year success, Payne wrote: “Wow… that photo is truly something to behold, and when you write songs like you do, Harry, you deserve both . millisecond of that second looking down smiling at the trophy you won. God bless you brother, congratulations.”
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One Route and family members pay tribute to Liam Payne
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July 2023: Apologies for previous negativity
While Payne had apologies issued in advance for the observations he made about 1D and Malik in the Impulsive podcast, he addressed them further – and explained the reason behind it all – in a YouTube video in July 2023.
“A lot of what I said came from the wrong place. I was so offended by what was going on around me, and instead of looking inward, I decided to look outward at everyone else, and I just assume, yes, I took it out on everyone else, which is just inappropriate, really. ,” stated Payne, who shared that he was celebrating six months of sobriety after 100 days in rehab.
“The whole thing back then was just a struggle to stay related,” Payne added of the period leading up to her decision to check into rehab. And although he said he regretted his polarizing comments, he also came to believe that the “life-changing” experience “saved my life in a way.”
Payne said he had “better control of life and everything that was slipping away from me; I just feel like I’ve gained more responsibility for this.
Despite his hurtful comments about some of his One Route colleagues, Payne said that “the rest of the boys really caught by me when I needed them most, they kind of came to the rescue. Even Zayn did too, which is why I sent him a little thank you online.”
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October 2024: Participates in Niall Horan’s live performance
Just a couple Weeks before his death, Payne shared that he hoped to reunite with his former bandmate Niall Horan. Payne and his girlfriend Kate Cassidy attended Horan’s live performance in Buenos Aires Argentina on October 2, according to AND! Online.
In a video shared on Snapchat — which was reposted on X — Payne revealed that he and Cassidy were going to watch Horan’s live performance.
“I believe we would simply say good morning! It’s been a while since Niall and I spoke. We have a lot to talk about,” he shared in the clip. “And I want to resolve some issues with the boy. No dangerous vibrations or anything like that. But we just… we have to talk.”
It’s unclear whether Payne and Horan finally met.
On October 16, Payne died after falling from the third-floor balcony of the CasaSur Palermo Lodge. On Thursday, TMZ called his death an “obvious suicide” in a report noting {that a} police officer, communications director for the Buenos Aires Ministry of Security, Pablo Policicchio – the group responsible for the city’s security – informed the Related Press that Payne “jumped from the balcony of his room.”
According to the initial autopsy, according to TMZ, the fall resulted in several accidents, including “internal and external bleeding.” The toxicology report remains pending.
Following the news of Payne’s passing, the music industry, friends, family and celebrities are reacting to the surprising and sudden loss. See how the stars are paying tribute in the gallery below.