Liam Payne Tributes Pour in From Charlie Puth, the Backstreet Boys and Other Musicians

Hours after news broke that Payne had fallen from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, his fans and collaborators shared their shock and grief.

The pop world on Thursday was struggling to come to terms with the passing of Liam Payne, 31, who rose to fame as a member of the British boy band One Direction. Payne died on Wednesday after falling from the balcony of a hotel in Argentina.

Fans gathered outside the hotel in Buenos Aires where Payne had been staying to mourn his death, including by singing One Direction hits, while on social media many posted tributes and memories.

Some of pop music’s biggest stars did the same. Charlie Puth, the pop singer and songwriter, posted on Instagram, that he was “in shock” at the news. Payne was “one of the first major artists I got to work with. I cannot believe he is gone,” Puth added.

“Words cannot express the emotions we are collectively feeling right now,” the Backstreet Boys wrote on X, adding “our hearts go out to Liam’s family, friends and Directioners around the world.”

“Life is short and fragile,” the German DJ Zedd, who released the song “Get Low” with Payne in 2017, wrote on social media. “RIP Liam … I can’t believe this is real …”

The reaction was especially strong in Britain, where Payne built his career. Among those to express condolences on social media were his childhood school and West Bromwich Albion, the soccer team Payne supported.

Payne first auditioned on the British talent show “The X Factor” as a solo artist in 2008, but found success when he returned in 2010, even though the group placed third in the show. Simon Cowell, the music executive and television personality, created One Direction by bringing Payne together with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson.

In 2011, One Direction’s debut single, “What Makes You Beautiful,” hit No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. The band released five albums and became one of the defining boy bands of the early 2010s. In 2015, One Direction announced it would take a break from performing together, and the group officially split up a year later.

As of Thursday morning, none of Payne’s former bandmates had issued public reactions to the news of his death, and their representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for Cowell also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

But on Instagram, Styles’s mother, Anne Twist, posted a picture of a broken heart emoji, with the caption “Just a boy …”