Liam Payne’s highs and lows after shock death at 31: From his X Factor rise to fame to his conflicts with One Direction bandmates

Liam Payne died on Wednesday at the age of 31 in Buenos Aires.

The hitmaker reportedly fell from the third floor of a hotel in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires TMZ. The investigation into his death is still ongoing.

The English star rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction, alongside his former bandmates Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson.

He made his debut as a singer on the British television series The X Factor when he was 14.

As Hollywood mourns the musician, DailyMail.com looks back at the highs and lows of his life and career.

As Hollywood mourns the musician, DailyMail.com looks back at his life and career; (L-R) Liam pictured with One Direction members Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Harry Styles in 2013

The X Factor (2008)

Payne made his first audition for the fifth series of The X Factor in 2008, when he was just 14 years old.

The audition was held in front of judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh.

He made it past the first round of X Factor after impressing the judges with his rendition of Frank Sinatra’s ‘Fly Me to the Moon’.

Although he was initially eliminated in the Boot Camp phase, Cowell brought Payne back for the jury phase. He was circumcised again during the judges’ houses, but was encouraged by Cowell to return within two years.

The singer returned to the show in 2010, auditioning for Cowell, Cole, Walsh and guest judge Natalie Imbruglia.

At the suggestion of former judge Nicole Scherzinger, he was put together with Horan, Malik, Styles and Tomlinson to form a boy band.

He made his debut as a singer on the British television series The X Factor when he was 14; seen on X Factor in 2010

The fan response was also immediate, with 1D hysteria quickly overshadowing the show. Despite the adulation, the band eventually finished in third place on the X Factor.

Cowell later admitted to Rolling Stone that it took him “about a millionth of a second” to discover the group’s global potential.

After the X Factor, One Direction signed with Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment.

One direction (2010 – 2016)

One Direction’s debut single, What Makes You Beautiful, was released in September 2011 and reached number one in several countries.

It was followed by their debut album, Up All Night, which made One Direction the first British group to have their debut album reach number one in the United States.

The group released ‘Live While We’re Young’, the lead single from their second album, in September 2012. It immediately became a worldwide success.

In November 2012, they released their second album, Take Me Home, which reached number one in more than 35 countries.

The group’s third album, Midnight Memories, was released in November 2013. It became the best-selling album in the world that year, with 4 million copies sold worldwide.

After the X Factor, One Direction signed with Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment; the group seen in 2013

The group’s third headline tour, the Where We Are Tour, grossed over $290 million, setting a new record as the highest-grossing tour of all time by a vocal group.

The group released their fourth album, Four, in 2014. It was the last album with Gigi Hadid’s ex Zayn.

Following the release of their fifth album, Made in the AM, in November 2015, the group went on an indefinite hiatus.

After Malik announced his departure from the band in 2015, the band went their separate ways.

During their time as a band, One Direction won five Brit Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, amassed more than three billion YouTube views and sold 50 million records worldwide.

Solo career

After releasing five albums with one of the biggest boy bands of all time, Liam released his first solo album in 2019, titled LP1.

His singles Strip That Down, co-written with Ed Sheeran, climbed to No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that same year.