In 2010, five young boys auditioned for the X-Factor, a British televised music competition. These five young boys were Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, and Zayn Malik. They were placed together by the panel of judges: Simon Cowell, Nicole Scherzinger, Louis Walsh, and Cheryl Cole. The boys were called back and introduced to each other for the first time minutes before performing their first song of the competition. The group was given the name “One Direction” and placed third in the 2010 season of X-Factor.

For the next five years, One Direction (1D) continued writing songs and eventually built five top-hit albums: Up All Night (2011), Take Me Home (2012), Midnight Memories (2013), Four (2014), and Made in the A.M. (2015). The song “That’s What Makes You Beautiful” was the number-one hit single for the band, making the group a household name. They traveled the world and went on four world tours. In 2015, the first member of the group, Zayn Malik, left the group. The band then fell apart months after and each artist started their own journey. 

Each band member went on to lead successful individual careers. Liam Payne had a slow start to his individual career. About a year later Liam released a song featuring Quavo called “Strip That Down”. He continued on his career with a few more songs here and there. He had a child with former X-Factor judge Cheryl Cole. Liam performed shows up until 2019 when Covid-19 hit. After the pandemic, Payne was slow to start back up. 

On October 16, 2024, Liam Payne had a very sudden and abrupt death. He was staying at the Casa Sur hotel in Buenos Aires when he fell off of a third-story balcony. All four of his past band members paid their respects at his funeral, which was held in Amersham, England on Wednesday, November 20th. Liam has over 50 memorial sights set up by fans thus far. His legacy will live on for generations through fans all around the globe.