AJ McLean has reflected on working with “incredible” Liam Payne before his shock death.
The music world was rocked last month when One Direction star Payne fell to his death from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the age of 31.
Backstreet Boys star McLean, 46, worked alongside the Little Things singer on the as-yet-unreleased Netflix music reality contest Building the Band.
Discussing his memories of Payne to E! News, the As Long as You Love Me singer said, “He was an incredible human being. He was such a talent and such a bright light.”
Reports have suggested that Payne had alcohol and drugs in his system when he died, but McLean – who has struggled with addiction problems in the past – said he only ever saw the One Direction star sober.
He told the news outlet, “I know from personal experience, when you’re going through something like that, you don’t really reach out to people that are sober.
“It’s not because you don’t want to, it’s you don’t want to be held accountable necessarily. So, I totally get where he was at. I’ve been there.”
Remaining hopeful their show will still be released, the American star added, “I hope people see him on this show. They’ll remember him this way.”
