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<\/p>\nBUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) \u2014 Former One Direction singer\u00a0Liam Payne,<\/p>\n
Alberto Crescenti, head of the state emergency medical system, told Argentina\u2019s Todo Noticias TV channel that authorities were investigating the circumstances of his death and conducting an autopsy.<\/p>\n
Payne had been vocal about struggling with alcoholism, posting a\u00a0video\u00a0in July 2023 to his YouTube channel where he said he had been sober for six months after receiving treatment. Representatives for Payne did not immediately return emails and calls.<\/p>\n
Dozens of One Direction fans flocked from across Buenos Aires to the Casa Sur Hotel after the news broke, forming lines that spilled into the cordoned-off street outside the hotel where police stood sentinel. Forensic investigators were seen exiting the hotel, from where Payne\u2019s body was removed around three hours after the fall. Young women filming with their cellphones expressed shock and heartbreak as a makeshift memorial with rows of candles and bouquets quickly grew outside the hotel.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t think he was going to die so young,\u201d 21-year-old Isabella Milesi told the AP.<\/p>\n
31, whose chart-topping British boy band generated a global following of swooning fans, was found dead Wednesday after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, local officials said.<\/p>\n
Buenos Aires police said in a statement that Payne fell from the third floor of the Casa Sur Hotel in the trendy Palermo neighborhood of Argentina\u2019s capital, resulting in \u201cextremely serious injuries.\u201d Medics confirmed his death on the spot, the statement said.<\/p>\n
The police statement to The Associated Press said Payne \u201chad jumped from the balcony of his room.\u201d Police rushed to the hotel in response to an emergency call just after 5 p.m. local time warning of an \u201caggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol,\u201d the statement added.![](\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/gettyimages-107466025.jpg?q=w_1110,c_fill\")
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The hotel manager can be heard on a 911 call obtained by the AP saying they had \u201ca guest who is overwhelmed with drugs and alcohol \u2026 He\u2019s destroying the entire room and, well, we need you to send someone, please.\u201d The manager\u2019s voice became more anxious as the call went on, noting the room had a balcony.![](\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/01-shutterstock-editorial-983775g.jpg?q=w_1110,c_fill\")
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Payne was one of\u00a0five members of One Direction,<\/a>\u00a0which formed when they each auditioned for the British singing competition series \u201cThe X Factor\u201d in 2010, two years after Payne\u2019s first attempt to get on the show. At 16 the second time around, Payne sang Michael Bubl\u00e9\u2019s version of \u201cCry Me a River,\u201d appearing nervous at the start but warming up with the audience\u2019s cheers and applause.<\/p>\n After each singer failed to make it through the competition as solo acts, Simon Cowell and his fellow judges combined Payne, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson into what would become one of the most successful boy bands \u2014 even though they lost the competition. \u201cI\u2019ve always loved One Direction since I was little,\u201d said 18-year-old Juana Relh, another fan outside Payne\u2019s hotel. \u201cTo see that he died and that there will never be another reunion of the boys is unbelievable, it kills me.\u201dWith his meteoric rise to fame, Payne had said that it took some time to adjust to the public eye. \u201cI don\u2019t think you can ever deal with that, it\u2019s all a bit crazy for us to see that people get in that sort of state of mind about us and what we do,\u201d he said in a 2013 interview with the AP after recounting an experience where a fan was in a state of shock upon meeting him.<\/p>\n After the group\u2019s dissolution, Payne \u2014 like each of his erstwhile bandmates \u2014 pursued a solo career, shifting toward EDM and hip-hop. His 2017 single \u201cStrip That Down,\u201d featuring Quavo, reached the Billboard Top 10, and stayed on the charts for several months. He put out\u00a0an album \u201cLP1\u201d<\/a>\u00a0in 2019, and his last release \u2014 a single called \u201cTeardrops\u201d \u2014 was released in March.<\/p>\n Payne had a\u00a07-year-old son, Bear Grey Payne,<\/a>\u00a0with his former girlfriend, the\u00a0musician Cheryl<\/a>\u00a0who was known as Cheryl Cole when she performed with Girls Aloud. She was an \u201cX Factor\u201d judge during One Direction\u2019s season, although their relationship began years later. Payne was previously engaged to Maya Henry, from August 2020 to early 2022. Henry released a novel earlier this year that she said was based on their relationship.<\/p>\n In addition to his son, he is survived by his parents, Geoff and Karen Payne, and his two older sisters, Ruth and Nicola.<\/p>\n Huamani reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press journalists Natacha Pisarenko and Debora Rey contributed reporting from Buenos Aires, Argentina. BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) \u2014 Former One Direction singer\u00a0Liam Payne, Alberto Crescenti, head of the state emergency medical system, told Argentina\u2019s Todo Noticias TV channel that authorities… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":14394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animal-world"],"yoast_head":"\n![](\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/10-gettyimages-2050875360.jpg?q=w_1110,c_fill\")
<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\nSponsored Content<\/span>Each member had their own persona, with Payne \u2014 who hailed from Wolverhampton, a city in the West Midlands region of England \u2014 being known as the responsible one. The band became known for their pop sound and romantic hits like \u201cWhat Makes You Beautiful,\u201d \u201cNight Changes\u201d and \u201cStory of My Life.\u201d Payne had prominent solos on songs including \u201cStole My Heart\u201d and \u201cChange Your Ticket,\u201d co-writing several of the band\u2019s hits. They had six Top 10 hits on the Billboard charts by the time they disbanded in 2016 and a highly loyal fan base, known as \u201cDirectioners,\u201d many of whom were teen girls.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/image3.affcoder.com\/storage\/images\/1729223292x7rDul0y15Uh8FUsJIk7.png\")
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