Former One Direction star Liam Payne has died aged 31

16 October 2024, 23:13 | Updated: 17 October 2024, 00:16

By Capital FM

@CapitalOfficial

Liam Payne has reportedly died in Argentina. Our deepest thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.

Liam Payne has reportedly died outside a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, local newspaper La Nacion reported on Wednesday (Oct 16). The former One Direction star was 31 years old.

According to the emergency services, Liam was reportedly found dead after falling from the hotel's third floor.

Alberto Crescenti, the head of the state emergency medical system, said Liam was found at the Casa Sur Hotel in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Palermo. He declined to answer any other questions about the incident.

No other details have been reported. The story is still developing.

We are extremely shocked and heartbroken by this news. We're sending love to Liam's family, friends, everyone that knew him and all his fans around the world.

Liam's first taste of fame came on The X Factor in 2008 when he auditioned for the first time at just 14 years old. After impressing the judges, he made it to Judges' Houses before sadly being cut by Simon who told him to return in two years.

As promised, he auditioned again in 2010 and found huge success with One Direction alongside his fellow bandmates Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan. The band soared to stratospheric levels of fame and became one of the biggest and most beloved boybands in history.

In 2016, after the band's hiatus, Liam embarked on his solo career with the release of 'Strip That Down'. He went on to release hits including 'Bedroom Floor', 'Get Low' with Zedd and 'For You' with Rita Ora.

In March 2024, Liam released his single 'Teardrops'.

In March 2017, Liam became a father to his son, Bear Payne, with ex Cheryl.

Opening up about his beloved son, Liam shared a sweet story with PEOPLE in July 2018: "I played him demo tapes of 'Familiar' ages ago before it came out. Then when it came out, he was like, 'I remember this one!' He goes rigid and like shakes with excitement and wants to get as close to the speaker as possible."

He added: "For me, I love making great music for my fans. But when you make something that your son loves, it's the best thing ever. Whenever he cries or anything, I'm like, 'famili, famili' and he's like, 'Hey, it's this one again!' He loves it."

Earlier this month, Liam was spotted in Argentina enjoying Niall Horan's concert. The two met up backstage and shared a photo together afterwards.

Early tributes have now poured in for the star, with X Factor alums Jedward and Rylan Clark both sharing their tributes to Liam and thoughts with his family and friends.

More heartfelt tributes will no doubt pour in from Liam's friends and collaborators in the coming days.