On Oct. 16, Liam Payne, solo artist and former member of the popular band One Direction died suddenly after a fall off of his hotel room balcony. 

Payne traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina to watch former bandmate Niall Horan perform on Oct. 2, their first known reunion in several years. Payne ended up extending the trip for another two weeks and he was in his Buenos Aires hotel when the tragedy occurred. 

Payne was known to struggle with both alcohol and drug addiction, and shared with fans that he went to rehab for 100 days in 2023. 

Authorities are investigating his hotel room and the nature of the fall after a 911 call was made by hotel staff about a guest who was believed to be under the influence and destroying objects in the room. Despite still being under investigation, local authorities were able to rule out foul play. 

Despite his struggles with addiction, Payne was a successful musician, most widely known as a former member of One Direction, one of the best selling boy bands to date. 

Payne was also well known for his hit single “Strip That Down” which had over 1 billion streams on Spotify. 

Senior Braelyn Johnson, a One Direction fan since the age of 10, was scrolling on Instagram when she saw the news of Payne’s death. 

“I didn’t believe it at first, but then I went on TikTok and saw it was true,” Johnson said. “It’s really sad, now we are never going to get a One Direction reunion, and I was really hoping for that.” 

If you or somebody you know is struggling with addiction or mental health, there are resources to help. Reach out to one of the hotlines below. 

National Mental Health Hotline | 988

Substance and Alcohol Abuse Hotline | 1-800-662-4357