By Dan Heching, Manuela Castro, Mauricio Torres and Alli Rosenbloom, CNN
Liam Payne, a former member of boyband One Direction, has died after falling from the window of a hotel in Buenos Aires, according to police there. He was 31.
Payne's death occurred on Wednesday at a hotel on Costa Rica Street in the Palermo neighbourhood, according to a statement from police provided to CNN.
Buenos Aires police said that personnel from the 14B police station went to the hotel on Wednesday afternoon after receiving a 911 call about an aggressive man who was possibly under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The police's statement did not identify that person as Payne.
Payne was seen in Argentina attending his former bandmate Niall Horan's concert on 2 October, according to videos posted to social media from the show.
He had recently celebrated his 31st birthday in the UK, according to videos posted to his Snapchat.
British singer-songwriter Liam Payne poses on the red carpet on arrival for the BRIT Awards 2019 in London on February 20, 2019. Photo: AFP / TOLGA AKMEN
Payne born in Wolverhampton in UK
Payne was born in Wolverhampton, West Midlands and was the youngest of three. He is an alum of the City of Wolverhampton College, where he studied music technology.
He was best known as a member of the famed British boyband One Direction. The band, which also included Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan, first formed in 2010 after each member appeared on the UK version of reality competition show The X Factor.
CNN has reached out to representatives for Payne as well as his former One Direction bandmates for comment.
"I do love being on stage," Payne said of performing and songwriting with the group in a 2015 interview with Entertainment Weekly. He said he was most proud of co-writing their song, 'What a Feeling'.
Liam Payne performs at the Hugo label show in the Halle during Berlin Fashion Week on 3 July, 2019. Photo: AFP / DPA
"That was a big one that me and Louis sat and wrote together," Payne recalled. "It just kinda came together. It was inspired by a Fleetwood Mac sound. It's just a nice driving jam - imagine driving down the coast."
One Direction announced they were taking a hiatus in 2015. Payne later released his debut solo album in 2019 titled LP1. In May 2023, Payne announced that he was working on a new album that he was "really excited" about, and shared that he was planning a tour.
He had been open about past struggles with substance abuse and talked about completing treatment and being six months sober in the summer of 2023.
The tour was set to kick off in South America in September that same year, but Payne had to postpone the scheduled dates after suffering a kidney infection.
In March of this year, Payne released the song 'Teardrops'.
Liam Payne with Cheryl Cole on 21 February, 2018. Photo: TOLGA AKMEN
Payne had a son, born in 2017, who he shared with former Girls Aloud singing group member Cheryl Cole.
In a video shared on YouTube in 2023, Payne talked about the love and affection he felt for his son, Bear.
"He's awesome. He's growing up far too quickly," Payne shared at the time. "He's far more smart than I think I'll ever be. He's a wonder."
-CNN
