When Simon Cowell and his fellow X Issue judges have been selecting the younger singers to type One Path, it was Liam Payne he was sure of.
“He was the stand-out audition,” the music mogul mentioned, as a Polaroid of the then 16-year-old was positioned on high of the smiling, contemporary faces of Harry Types, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson. Zayn Malik quickly adopted. The judges agreed Payne might be the “leader”.
From footage of the method, the creation of a pop phenomenon seemingly took only a few minutes.
“I’m in a boy band,” Payne excitedly informed his dad in a textual content message after discovering he had been chosen. He had no thought then how his life was going to alter.
Picture:
Pic: Katie Collins/PA
One Path didn’t win the X Consider 2010. That title went to Matt Cardle, with Rebecca Ferguson named runner-up. Past the hype across the collection, just a few contestants, winners or in any other case, discovered lasting success.
Cowell’s group went on to eclipse each different act that appeared on the present, earlier than or after.
The heady days of boy band mania within the Nineteen Nineties and early 2000s involving Take That, Boyzone, Backstreet Boys and NSync had ended. One Path greater than stuffed the hole.
They could have been “the cutest boyband ever”, as X Issue choose Nicole Scherzinger described them throughout the choice course of, however they have been additionally 5 gifted younger singers who sang well-crafted, catchy pop songs.
From the discharge of their debut single, What Makes You Lovely in 2011, their rise appeared inevitable. Payne co-wrote songs on all their albums.
One Path grew to become one of many largest pop teams on the planet, releasing 5 albums, embarking on 4 world excursions and starring in a movie. However simply 5 years after their formation in 2010, Malik left the group, and the band introduced their indefinite hiatus the next yr.
Payne, who was born in Wolverhampton, had wished to be a singer from a younger age. His first audition for the X Issue had really been in 2008 when he was 14-years-old, two years earlier than he was positioned in One Path.
“I think about singing all the time,” he informed the cameras, earlier than singing Fly Me To The Moon. Cowell favored him and put him by the primary spherical, however finally determined he was too younger.
Picture:
Pic: Ken McKay/Shutterstock
As a solo star after One Path separated, he signed a take care of Capitol Data and had hits together with Strip That Down and Get Low, working with a variety of high-profile artists. However as his former bandmates discovered various levels of solo success – Types hitting related heights to One Path as an artist in his personal proper – Payne seemingly struggled to seek out his place.
After reaching his childhood dream, Payne’s path adopted that of so many stars who discover stratospheric fame at a younger age. In interviews, he spoke candidly about his struggles with psychological well being and dependancy to alcohol.
“For some certain circumstances – I’m quite lucky to be here still, which is something I’ve never really shared with anyone,” he informed former soldier and TV character Ant Middleton on his Straight Speaking present in 2019.
“I can’t go too deep into it because I don’t know how I feel myself. I still haven’t made my peace with it, to be honest.”
Picture:
With Cheryl on the Brit Awards in 2018. Pic: Reuters/Eddie Keogh
He continued: “There’s times where that level of loneliness and people getting into you every day. Just every so often, you’re like, when will this end? That’s almost nearly killed me a couple of times.”
In an interview with Diary Of A CEO podcast host Steven Bartlett, he described fighting alcoholism on the peak of his success with One Path, and hitting “rock bottom”. His issues with ingesting continued throughout the pandemic, however in 2023 he shared a YouTube video telling followers he was six months sober, after spending practically 100 days in rehab within the US.
In his private life, he had a relationship with Women Aloud star Cheryl, having first met her as an adolescent throughout that first X Issue audition when she was a choose in 2008. “I like you, I think you’re really cute,” she famously informed him again then, saying he had charisma and a “cheeky” model when he winked at her. In March 2017, they introduced the delivery of their son, Bear, however cut up the next yr.
On the time of his dying, he was in a relationship with US mannequin and influencer Kate Cassidy, who had been with him in Argentina to see a live performance by his former bandmate Horan.
He had confronted some criticism on social media over his behaviour on the live performance, resulting in followers circulating outdated clips of him. Nonetheless, footage he posted simply hours earlier than he died appeared to recommend he was having fun with his journey.
His dying aged 31 is a devastating finish to a younger life, and whereas the complete circumstances should not but identified, some musicians of their tributes have known as for extra help behind the scenes. As documentaries on enormous stars akin to Taylor Swift, Lewis Capaldi and Selena Gomez have proven lately, behind the glamour and fortune, the fact of fame can typically be a lot harsher.
In 2020, marking One Path’s tenth anniversary, Payne shared a screenshot of that textual content message he had despatched to his dad, telling him he was in a boyband, all these years earlier. “What a journey,” he wrote. “Thanks to everyone that’s supported us over the years and thanks to the boys for sharing this with me.”
Hypothesis a couple of reunion had grown through the years. Now, if it does occur, it tragically can be with out Payne. The younger star who at all times wished to sing.
