English singer Liam Payne unexpectedly died this week. As TMZ reports, the 31-year-old had fallen from his third floor room at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, although it's unknown whether the fall was intentional or accidental.
According to Argentine TV news station TN, police responded to a 911 call at 5 pm about a man reported to be behaving aggressively at the hotel’s courtyard. Paramedics confirmed the man’s death upon their arrival.
“There was no possibility of doing anything,” said Alberto Crescenti, director of SAME (Argentina’s Emergency Medical Care System) to TN, implying that the fall was fatal, before saying the results of an autopsy would determine what caused his fall.
“According to what the team saw, he had a fracture on the base of his skull. Very serious injuries,” he added, saying Payne fell between 13 meters, or approximately 43 feet.
Payne came to notoriety after he became part of British boy band, One Direction, which was formed in 2010 after placing third on the seventh season of the UK edition of The X Factor. He was 16-years-old at the time he joined.
The group, which was composed of Payne, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik became a global phenomenon and one of the best-selling boy groups of all time.
With hit singles like “What Makes You Beautiful,” “Story of My Life,” and “Night Changes,” the group went on to sell 200 million records worldwide and amassed over 21 billion streams across all platforms, per Sony Music UK. In the U.S., the group became the first band in Billboard 200 history to have their first four albums debut at No. 1.
Following the group’s indefinite hiatus in 2016, Payne pursued a solo career and released single “Strip That Down” featuring Quavo in 2017.
The singer had traveled to Buenos Aires earlier this month and was spotted in the audience supporting his former bandmate, Niall Horan, who brought his The Show Tour to the country on Oct. 2.
Just hours before his death, Payne shared videos of himself in Argentina dining with girlfriend Kate Cassidy to his Snapchat account.
TMZ previously reported that Payne was living with addiction and suicidal thoughts in 2021. Last August, the singer revealed he was over 100 days sober and working on new music. His final single, “Teardrops” was released in March and was co-written by NSYNC’s JC Chasez.
Payne is survived by his son Bear, 6, whom he welcomed with former X Factor judge, 41-year-old singer Cheryl Cole, per People.
RIP.