Get all your news in one place.

100’s of premium titles.
One app.

Start reading

Get all your news in one place.

100’s of premium titles. One news app.

Start reading

Evening Standard

Lifestyle

Jordan Page

Liam Payne's rise to fame: One Direction success and solo artist achievements

Liam Payne United Kingdom One Direction United States Cheryl J Balvin Quavo Rita Ora Buenos Aires Argentina

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of singer Liam Payne, who fell from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Wednesday.

Local police have said that the 31-year-old fell into the courtyard of the Casa Sur hotel in the city’s Palermo neighbourhood, where he sustained injuries that “were incompatible with life”.

“Based on what the team saw, there was apparently a cranial fracture and extremely serious injuries that led to his immediate death,” Buenos Aires emergency services chief Alberto Crescenti told The Sun.

Payne’s former band, One Direction — one of the world’s biggest boy bands — sold more than 70 million records worldwide, won seven Brit Awards and captured the hearts of a generation of fans.

Formed by Simon Cowell on the 2010 series of The X Factor, Payne and his bandmates Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson released several pop hits, including What Makes You Beautiful and Best Song Ever.

After the band embarked on an indefinite hiatus in 2016, each member, including Payne, embarked on a successful solo career. Payne also had a seven-year-old son, Bear, with ex-girlfriend Cheryl (formerly Tweedy, but now professionally just Cheryl).

Here’s a full rundown of Payne’s music success with One Direction and as a solo artist.

One Direction chart history

One Direction’s Liam Payne, right, helped break the boy band mould to achieve global stardom (PA Wire)

One Direction achieved 14 top 10 hits in the UK, four of which went to number one: 2011’s What Makes You Beautiful, 2012’s Little Things, 2013’s One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks), and 2015’s Drag Me Down.

The band also had three number-one charity singles, two as part of The X Factor Finalists (2010’s Heroes and 2011’s Wishing on a Star with JLS) and one as part of Band Aid 30 for a 2014 version of Do They Know It’s Christmas?

Although the band didn’t score a number one song in the US, they claimed six top-10 hits. They became the only musical group in the Billboard 200 chart’s history to have their four first album debut in the number one spot.

Here is a round-up of One Direction’s UK and US chart history.

Albums:

Up All Night (2011): UK: 2, US: 1
Take Me Home (2012): UK: 1, US: 1
Midnight Memories (2013): UK: 1, US: 1
Four (2014) UK: 1, US: 1
Made in the A.M (2015): UK: 1, US: 2

Singles

2011

What Makes You Beautiful: UK: 1, US: 4
Gotta Be You: UK: 3

2012

One Thing: UK: 9, US: 39
More Than This: UK: 86
Live While We’re Young: UK: 3, US: 3
Little Things: UK: 1, US: 33

2013

Kiss You: UK: 9, US: 46
One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks): UK: 1, US: 13
Best Song Ever: UK: 2, US: 2
Story of My Life: UK: 2, US: 6

2014

Midnight Memories: UK: 39, US: 12
You & I: UK: 19, US: 68
Steal My Girl: UK: 3, US: 13
Night Changes: UK: 7, US: 31

2015

Drag Me Down: UK: 1, US: 3
Perfect: UK: 2, US: 10
History: UK: 6, US: 65

Liam Payne’s solo chart history

Payne began his solo career in May 2017, just over a year after One Direction announced their indefinite hiatus. Featuring US rapper Quavo, his debut single Strip That Down enjoyed success both in the UK and the US.

Payne — whose sound was more R&B and hip-hop leaning than his poppier One Direction days — collaborated with artists including Rita Ora, J Balvin and French Montana.

Released in 2019, His first and only album, LP1, reached the top 20 in the UK but missed the top 100 in the US.

In May 2023, the singer said he was working on his second studio album. However, the album remained unreleased when he died, with only one single, Teardrops — which failed to chart in the UK or the US — released.

Albums