Liam Payne’s life changed forever when he auditioned for ‘The X Factor’.

The singer – who died on Wednesday after falling from his hotel balcony aged 31 – originally appeared on the British singing competition series in 2008, where he met his future girlfriend Cheryl Cole. The couple dated from 2016 to 2018 and had a son named Bear.

Cole, 41, was one of the judges alongside Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh who first watched a then 14-year-old Payne audition for the show.

“When I’m in school, I generally think about singing all the time,” Payne told producers before his audition. “I should actually concentrate on my work, but I just think too much about singing. It’s a dream and I would love to do it.”

After meeting with the judges, Payne sang Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon.” His portrayal impressed the judges, although Cowell, 65, faced some criticism.

“I think there’s potential in you Liam,” he said, adding: “I’m just missing a bit of guts, a bit of emotion – and actually a bit of fun, funny enough.”

Cole told Payne, “I like you. I think you’re really cute. I think you have charisma. Give us that little wink.”

All three judges gave Payne a “yes” and he walked out of the room where his family, including mother Karen and father Geoff, celebrated him reaching the next round of the competition.

Payne eventually made it to the show’s judges’ stage, where Cowell decided to eliminate him.

Cowell told guest judge Sinitta at the time: “I just got a terrible feeling, now I’m going to seriously regret this decision.”

Two years later, Payne returned to “The X Factor” for Season 7. The 16-year-old performed Michael Buble’s Cry Me a River for Cole, Cowell and the other judges for his 2010 audition.

‘You certainly have. Whatever it is, you got it,” Cole told Payne. “And I thought your voice was very, very powerful.”

Cowell said: “That was extraordinary – I mean seriously extraordinary. The confidence, the swagger, the charisma, the credibility, the voice, the way you look – absolutely on the money. On the money.”

Payne made it to the boot camp stage, where he and fellow solo artists Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Niall Horan were placed in a group called One Direction.

One Direction finished in third place on the show, but they went on to become one of the best-selling boy bands of all time.

They released four albums before Malik, 31, left the band in 2015. The rest of One Direction released a fifth album and went on an indefinite hiatus as a group in 2016.

Payne’s first solo album after One Direction, called “LP1,” was released in 2019.

In 2022, Payne criticized his former bandmates on Logan Paul’s podcast. He said there were “many reasons” why he disliked Malik.

The following year, Payne responded to his comments in a YouTube video after he went to rehab for addiction issues.

“My own frustrations with my own career and where I ended up, I was shooting at everyone, which is wrong,” the “Strip That Down” singer said. “So obviously I want to apologize for that because that’s absolutely not me.”

While Payne met Cole on ‘The X Factor’ in 2008, they didn’t start dating until eight years later following Cole’s divorce from ex-husband Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini.

The singers later split in July 2018, but remained amicable co-parents to Bear.

While recapping his first audition in a segment for Esquire in May 2020, Payne said, “Let’s address the elephant in the room. “Obviously my son’s future mother is sitting in that chair. Now this is an episode of “How I Met Your Mother,” so that’s enough, I guess.

Payne lost his life on Wednesday after falling from the third-floor balcony of his hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Medical officials confirmed Payne died of a skull fracture and “extremely serious injuries” from the fatal fall.

First responders arrived at the hotel after receiving a 911 call from the manager, who claimed Payne was trashing his hotel room and was under the influence of “drugs and alcohol.”

Witnesses claimed Payne was behaving “erratically” before his death. He allegedly broke his laptop in the hotel lobby and was carried back to his room before the fall.

Photos from Payne’s hotel room showed a broken television, a half-empty glass of what appeared to be champagne, remains of a burnt candle and the burnt top of a can.

There were also traces of a white powder that authorities will reportedly test to confirm suspicions it could be cocaine.

“The X Factor” posted a statement on X (formerly Twitter) following Payne’s death.

“We are heartbroken by the sad passing of Liam Payne. He was immensely talented and as part of One Direction, Liam will leave a lasting legacy to the music industry and fans around the world. Our thoughts are with his friends, family and everyone who loved him,” the show wrote.

Payne arrived in Argentina earlier this month to attend Horan’s Oct. 2 concert. Payne said on Instagram before the show that the former bandmates “had things in order.”