After One Direction, Liam Payne was just getting started. His death is a heartbreaking end | Alexis Petridis
The singer and songwriter helped reinvent the boyband. His life and career have been cut far too short
- Gallery: Liam Payne – a life in pictures
- Liam Payne updates: tributes paid after singer dies in Buenos Aires
- Liam Payne, former One Direction singer, dies aged 31
If a quarter of a century of reality TV talent shows has taught us anything, it’s that success in them is seldom a guarantee of lasting fame: more often than not, the celebrity is fleeting, and confined to the country of the show’s origin.
You might have predicted that outcome for One Direction. Simon Cowell claimed to have thrown the band together “in 10 minutes” from solo contestants who had failed to progress any further than the bootcamp stage of the 2010 UK X Factor – despite the fact that one of them, the Wolverhampton-born Liam Payne, had at one stage been tipped to win the series for his initial audition: a version of the old standard Cry Me a River. One Direction ended the series as runners-up, and that, you could have assumed, was that – after all, the stock of the boyband was hopelessly low at the time.
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Top stories - BBC News
Fans gather outside Buenos Aires hotel to mourn Liam Payne
The singer fell from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, police say.5 hours ago -
Top stories - BBC News
Fans of Liam Payne react to his death in Argentina
Fans of the former One Direction singer expressed their shock as they gathered in Buenos Aires.5 hours ago -
Top stories - ABC News
Singer Liam Payne dies after fall from hotel in Argentina: Police
Former One Direction star Liam Payne died after falling from the third floor of his hotel room in Argentina, according to state police.7 hours ago -
Top stories - CBS News
Liam Payne, former One Direction singer, dies at 31 after falling from hotel
Pop star Liam Payne of One Direction died after falling into an interior patio of a hotel in Buenos Aires, officials said.10 hours ago -
Top stories - NBC News
Liam Payne, member of One Direction, dies after falling from hotel in Argentina, officials say
Liam Payne, a member of British pop band One Direction, died Wednesday at the age of 31 after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Argentina, local authorities said.9 hours ago
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