Nicole Scherzinger may have been one of the last people to contact Liam Payne before the singer died on October 16 after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In an interview with Bulletin board for Serzinger's “one-of-a-kind” Broadway performance Sunset Blvd.composer Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber revealed that Scherzinger — who met Payne when she was a judge in English X-Factorwhere One Direction formed — had contacted Liam on the day of his death.
“She was still texting him that day and [that evening] the judges entered [to SUNSET]she had just heard that he had died,” Webber said of previews for the musical in which Serzinger stars as Norma Desmond. “And the fact that he did the show at all is extraordinary. I mean she's an amazing, amazing woman. She is without a doubt one of the best performers I have ever worked with.”
On Thursday (October 24), Scherzinger posted a tribute to Payne on Instagram in the form of a letter to her late friend. “Dear Liam, I will forever love and cherish the time we shared together, from fifteen years ago when One Direction was born, to just a few weeks ago,” she wrote. “It has been such a blessing to work with you recently. We shared the same love and passion for music and I will always remember the meaningful and happy conversations we had.”
THE The accompanying photo showed a smiling Payne poses with Scherzinger and ex-Destiny's Child member and solo star Kelly Rowlands from the set of their Netflix series Building the Band. The music competition series – which also features Backstreet Boys host AJ McLean – began filming this summer with the premise of the talented singers tasked with creating their own bands without having previously seen each other. At press time, a representative for the show had not returned a call Bulletin boardhis request for comment on plans to air the series after Payne's death.
“It's been so hard to process that you're not here anymore, but I'm grateful to have known your kind heart, sweet soul, and character,” Scherzinger continued. “You brought so much joy, light and laughter into the lives of those who truly knew you. I will miss you my friend and I will carry you in my heart. My thoughts and prayers are with your family.”
In 2022, a clips I hadn't seen before from the formation of 1D onwards X-Factor revealed that it was Scherzinger who was instrumental in creating a group of solo singers Payne, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson. “We thought of each of you as an individual, and we just feel like you're too talented to let go,” Scherzinger said at the time. “We think it would be a great idea to have two separate groups,” he continued as judge Simon Cowell broke the tension by announcing the fledgling group would go through to the next round.
The unseen portion of the video showed Scherzinger heavily involved in the lineup of members of what at the time would be the “cutest boy band ever! The little girls will love them!… They are too talented to get rid of. And they have just the right look and charisma on stage. I think they would be really great in a boy band together,” he said.
At the time, Cowell predicted that the confident Payne would likely be the “leader” of the fledgling group. “They're like little stars,” Scherzinger said of the five boys who originally auditioned as solos. Payne had also auditioned as a solo act two years earlier in 2008. “You can't get rid of the little stars like that. You put it all together,” Scherzinger said.
On Wednesday, Buenos Aires police raided the luxury hotel where Payne was staying when he died, reportedly removing a number of items including hard drives and CCTV footage. Payne, 31, died after falling from a third-floor balcony, with an autopsy report revealing he died of multiple injuries, including internal and external bleeding caused by the fall. Investigators reportedly found a number of substances in his body at the time, including a recreational drug called “pink cocaine”, a mixture of substances often containing ketamine combined with MDMA, methamphetamine, cocaine, opioids and/or psychoactive substances. Full autopsy details are not expected for several more weeks.
Scherzinger is the latest star to post a tribute to Payne, following statements from his former 1D bandmates, 5 Seconds of Summer's Ashton Irwin, Justin Bieber and the singer's girlfriend of two years, Kate Cassidy, among many others .
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/nicole-scherzinger-tribute-liam-payne-1235811130/