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American singer Nicole Scherzinger has called the recent opportunity to work with former One Direction member Liam Payne a “blessing”.

Payne died last week at the age of 31 when he fell from a balcony on the third floor of the Casa Sur Hotel in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.

TV personality Scherzinger, 46, was a judge on The X Factor when Payne auditioned in 2010 and helped form boy band One Direction on the show.

On Friday, the Pussycat Dolls star paid tribute to Payne on Instagram, posting a photo of the couple with former Destiny’s Child singer Kelly Rowland, who were all announced in August as judges for a new Netflix show called Building The Band.

The post read: “Dear Liam, I will forever cherish and cherish the times we shared together, from 15 years ago when One Direction was born, to just a few weeks ago.

“It was a privilege to work with you recently. We shared the same love and passion for music and I will forever remember the meaningful and joyful conversations we had.

“It was so hard to process that you are gone, but I am grateful to have gotten to know your kind heart, sweet soul and character.

“You brought so much joy, light and laughter into the lives of those who truly knew you. I will miss you my friend and carry you in my heart. My thoughts and prayers are with your family.”

Since news of his death, tributes have poured in for Payne, including from his former partner Cheryl, his One Direction bandmates and music mogul Simon Cowell.

Payne’s bandmates: Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Harry Styles; said in a joint statement that they were “completely devastated” and will miss the singer “terribly”, adding that the “memories we shared with him will be cherished forever”.

Malik, who left One Direction in 2015 before the group went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016, moved his US tour to 2025 following Payne’s death.

Over the weekend, thousands of Payne fans tearfully remembered the late singer at memorial events in Britain and many other parts of the world.

The Casa Sur Hotel has become a place where Payne’s fans can pay their respects with people leaving flowers, candles and photos of the singer in a makeshift shrine around a tree at the hotel’s entrance.

Payne first auditioned for The X Factor in 2008, aged 14, and sang Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me To The Moon, with judge Cowell telling him to return to the talent show two years later.

Payne previously said he struggled with alcoholism at the height of his success with One Direction, and described hitting rock bottom to The Diary Of A CEO podcast host Steven Bartlett.