Liam Payne, seen here at the film’s 2023 premiere All these voicesa documentary about his One Direction bandmate Louis Tomlinson.

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Liam Payne, a singer who rose to fame as a member of the successful boy band One Direction, has died while in Buenos Aires, according to multiple news agencies. He was 31.

The Associated Press obtained a statement from Buenos Aires police saying Payne had fallen from the third-floor window of the Casa Sur Hotel in the Palermo district of the Argentine capital. Pablo Policicchio, the spokesman for the Buenos Aires Municipality’s Ministry of Security, provided the Associated Press with a statement saying that police were dispatched after receiving an emergency call about an “aggressive man who may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.” and found Payne’s body. in the hotel courtyard.

AP reports that officials are still investigating the events leading to Payne’s death. NPR has reached out to representatives for Payne but has not received a response.

Across five albums released in the 2010s, One Direction became a global phenomenon. Backed by singles like “Live While We’re Young” and “Best Song Ever,” the quintet charted a course from second place on the reality show to full-on teen fixation.

Payne was born in 1993 in Wolverhampton, England. He auditioned for the first time The X Factor Britain in 2008, but was not chosen to continue by judge Simon Cowell. He returned in 2010.

“I really think Simon did the right thing and I wasn’t ready for it,” he says said as he introduced himself to the judges on stage. “Now I’m 16, and I’m back and I’m ready to try again.”

He then launched into a cover of Michael Buble’s rendition of ‘Cry Me A River’. His second attempt at competing in the reality TV competition earned him thunderous applause, but Payne was nearly eliminated in the subsequent rounds. Instead of being sent home, he was selected to form a group with four other guys who would also not advance in the solo categories: Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson. Styles suggested a name and it stuck.

At the turn of the millennium, the boy band was at the center of the pop zeitgeist, but ten years later, when Payne and his bandmates emerged from the reality competition, the format had lost much of its luster. One Direction caught on almost immediately in Britain and the US, with the group’s classic rock-influenced debut single ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ reviving the model.

With that of 2014 Fourthe boy band made history as the first group whose first four albums – all released between 2012 and 2014 – reached number 1 on the charts. Billboard 200. In 2014 they also had the highest grossing tour of the year, which became one of the highest grossing shows of all time. The band gathered a devoted following during their performance and helped open the door for other international acts to follow, such as BTS.

After Malik left the group in 2015, One Direction released one final album, Made in the morningas a quartet before going on an indefinite hiatus in 2016. When the group later won the Video of the Year award at the 2017 Brit Awards for their song ‘History’, Payne was the only member present. Speaking alongside Cowell, he said: “The sheer dedication our fans have shown to this online has been absolutely amazing. We spent some time working on our solo material, but One Direction is who we are and we always will be.”

When the members split to pursue a solo career, Payne was the third to make his debut: The album, LP1was released in 2019 and spawned a handful of popular singles, including ‘Strip That Down’ featuring Migos frontman Quavo and ‘For You’ featuring English singer Rita Ora. It was his only album; in 2023, Payne revealed to Rolling stone that he was working on a sequel, and in March he released the single “Teardrops”.

In one video Posted on his YouTube page in 2023, Payne opened up about his struggles with alcoholism and his sobriety and explained his decision to enter a treatment program in Louisiana, where he spent several months. “I’ve been trying to get to know this new guy ever since,” he said, gesturing to himself.

Payne is survived by a 7-year-old son, his parents and two sisters.

Sheldon Pearce contributed reporting to this story.