Dan Richards is mourning the loss of his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne following his death on Oct. 16 at age 31. After news broke Wednesday that Payne died after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina, Richards, guitarist for the famous U.K. boy band, joined the growing number of celebrities and fans to pay tribute to the singer.
In an emotional note shared to his Instagram Story Wednesday evening, Richards said, “This all feels so surreal. Thanks to everyone reaching out.” Writing that he was “still trying to wrap my head around it all,” the guitarist added, “My thoughts go out to Liam’s family at this time.”
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Payne got his start in music on The X-Factor in 2010 when judges Simon Cowell, Nicole Scherzinger, and Louis Walsh teamed him with fellow solo contestants Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson to form One Direction. The group went on to become one of most successful boy bands in modern history, scoring four No.1 albums on the Billboard 200 and six top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and selling out arenas and stadiums around the world during their four headlining tours. Some of their biggest hits include “Story of My Life,” which Payne co-wrote, “Best Song Ever,” and “Drag Me Down.”
Paying tribute to Payne on social media, the TV show said: “We are heartbroken by the sad passing of Liam Payne. He was immensely talented and, as part of One Direction, Liam will leave a lasting legacy on the music industry and fans around the world. Our thoughts are with his friends, family and all who loved him.”
After One Direction went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016 following the release of their fifth album, Made in the A.M., Payne embarked on a solo career. In 2017, he released his hit track “Strip That Down” featuring Quavo. The song has since gone on to reach over 1 billion streams on Spotify. He went on to release his first solo EP, First Time, in 2018. His first and only studio album, LP1, followed in 2019.
Payne collaborated with numerous other artists throughout his solo career, including Rita Ora on “For You,” Zedd on “Get Low,” and Charlie Puth, who co-wrote Payne’s 2017 song “Bedroom Floor.” Paying tribute to his former collaborator, Puth shared an uncaptioned photo of himself with the singer on his Instagram, adding in a statement to his Instagram Story, “I am in shock right now. Liam was always so kind to me. He was one of the first major artists I got to work with. I can not believe he is gone. am so upset right now, may he rest in peace.”
Payne died after falling from his third-floor balcony at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, Oct. 16. Police said they were called to the to the hotel in the capital’s Palermo neighborhood following reports “of an aggressive man who may have been under the effects of drugs and alcohol.” Payne sustained “serious injuries” from the fall and was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 31.
