Zayn Malik has postponed his US tour in the wake of his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne’s death.
The British singer announced on social media that he will put the American leg of his Stairway to the Sky tour on pause.
“Given the heartbreaking loss experienced this week, I’ve made the decision to postpone the US leg of the Stairway to the Sky Tour,” Malik wrote. “Love you all and thank you for your understanding.”
Malik had announced the rare tour only last month, with five dates in the States and six in the UK.
The US dates – in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Washington DC and New York – will be rescheduled for January, Malik said, from their original dates in October and November.
The singer has been staying out of the spotlight in recent years, after his high-profile departure from One Direction in 2015 while the group was on tour in Asia. The group broke up a year later.
Malik penned a personal tribute to Payne on Thursday, writing, “When it came to the music Liam, you were the most qualified in every sense.
“I was always happy to know, no matter what happened on stage we could always rely on you to know which way to steer the ship next,” Malik said.
Payne died on Wednesday after falling from a third-floor hotel room balcony in Buenos Aires. He was 31.
