10 things to know about late One Direction singer, Liam Payne

Liam Payne, a former member of the iconic boy band One Direction, tragically passed away at the age of 31 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His death, caused by a fall from a hotel, is under investigation. While fans around the world mourn his loss, here are 10 key facts about his life and career:

1 Born on August 29, 1993, in Wolverhampton, England, Liam James Payne was the son of Karen and Geoff Payne. He had two older sisters, Nicola and Ruth.

2 Born three weeks early, Payne suffered frequent illnesses as a child and had a dysfunctional kidney. To manage his condition, he endured 32 injections daily until age four.

3 Before pursuing music, Payne was a talented athlete, ranking among the top 1500m runners in his age group in the UK. He later took up boxing to defend himself from bullying.

4 Payne discovered his passion for performing at age 12, joining the Pink Productions Theatre Company. He also performed in front of 26,000 spectators at a Wolverhampton Wanderers football match.

5 Payne initially auditioned for The X Factor in 2008, but it wasn’t until 2010 that he was grouped with four other contestants to form One Direction. The band became one of the best-selling boy bands in history.

6 After One Direction went on hiatus in 2015, Payne pursued a solo career, releasing his debut single “Strip That Down” in 2017, which achieved major success on the UK and US charts.

7 His first solo studio album, LP1, was released in December 2019. By then, Payne had sold over 18 million singles and 2.4 million albums, amassing nearly 4 billion streams globally.

8 In addition to singing, Payne produced remixes under the names “Big Payno” and “Payno,” collaborating with various artists and remixing tracks for his group and Cheryl, a former bandmate.

9 Payne took up boxing at age 12 after facing bullying from older students at his secondary school.

10 He died at the age of 31.

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