The story of Liam Payne‘s life will always include One Direction.
The singer died on Oct. 16 after falling from a third floor hotel room in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, the local authorities from the Sistema de Atencion Medica de Emergencia told Telemundo. He was 31.
His death marks a tragic turn in the history of One Direction, which was formed in 2010 when Payne was grouped with Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik to compete together as a boy band on season seven of U.K.’s The X Factor.
“He would definitely shine,” judge Nicole Scherzinger said of Liam during deliberations with Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh, as seen in behind-the-scenes show footage of how the group was formed. “He could actually, maybe, be the leader.”
Walsh also went to bat for Payne at the time, saying the then-14-year-old had the “confidence” to be a star.
“He’s good,” the music manager noted. “He’s consistent.”
