Liam Payne hotel fall tragedy sees Harry Styles' mum give heartbreaking three-word tribute

Tributes have been pouring in following One Direction Liam Payne' death in Argentina

Harry Styles' mum has posted a heart-breaking tribute following the death of former One Direction singer Liam Payne in Argentina. Anne Twist posted a picture a broken-hearted emoji against a black background on Instagram, captioning it: "Just a boy."

Liam died after falling from the third floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Local police said the singer fell from the third floor into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires before medics confirmed his death, in a statement to the Associated Press (AP).

Liam was only 16 when he rose to fame in the boy band One Direction on The X Factor in 2010 alongside Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles.

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It is believed that he was in South America to attend a Niall Horan concert and had posted a picture of them "reunited" and had stayed on in the country.

As news of his death came in, fans gathered outside the hotel to sing One Direction songs and light candles for the 31-year-old singer.

Dermot O'Leary has recalled Liam Payne auditioning for The X Factor as a 14-year-old boy, as he paid tribute to the singer.

The TV presenter, who hosted The X Factor during both of Payne's appearances, shared a photograph of the pair on stage, captioning the Instagram post: "The worst news".

"I remember him as a 14-year-old turning up to audition on The X Factor, and blowing us away singing Sinatra. He just loved to sing," he wrote. He was always a joy, had time for everyone, polite, grateful, and was always humble."

Singer Olly Murs, who starred on The X Factor a year before One Direction, said he was "lost for words", describing Payne's death as "devastating" on Instagram.

"We always had a good laugh when we saw each other, sometimes the catch ups were only short and sweet but when we did it was mostly about how annoyingly good his hair always looked, or our love for Becks, the old XF (X Factor) days and the tour we shared together," Murs wrote beside a picture of the pair.

"Liam shared the same passions as me, the same dreams so to see his life now end so young hits hard, I'm truly gutted and devastated for his family and of course his son Bear losing a dad."

The Wanted star Max George said he met Payne while he was competing on The X Factor with One Direction, describing his death as "absolutely devastating news"

"Over the last few years I had the pleasure of getting to know him personally and spent some treasured time with him," he said on Instagram. "Liam was absolutely wonderful in terms of support when Tom (Parker) fell ill, performing at the Royal Albert Hall with us for Stand Up To Cancer. He supported me a lot personally after Tom passed. I will never forget that."

Rylan Clark said Payne's death was "so tragic" on X, while fellow former X Factor contestants Jedward sent their love to Cheryl, his son Bear and "all the One Direction family".

Payne and Girls Aloud singer Cheryl share a son Bear, born in 2017, having been in a high-profile relationship between 2016 and 2018.