Liam Payne lived a life bigger than most, rising to fame at the tender age of 16 when he was selected by judges to form the band One Direction, which would go on to become one of the biggest groups the world has ever seen.
As family, friends and fans alike remember Liam Payne’s remarkable life following the devastating news of his tragic death at age 31, we take a look back at some of the singer’s most noteworthy moments from his extraordinary life.
2008: Liam Payne’s First X-Factor Audition
Liam was just 14 when he first auditioned for X-Factor, performing Frank Sinatra’s ‘Fly Me To The Moon‘ in front of judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh.
Payne made it through to the boot camp stage but was cut early on, only to be brought back by Simon Cowell for one final shot.
Although he was cut from the competition during the judges’ houses stage, Cowell obviously spotted something special in Payne and encouraged him to “come back in two years.”
2010: Liam Payne Joins One Direction
Taking Simon Cowell’s advice on board, a determined Liam Payne re-auditioned for a place in the 2010 X-Factor series – this time in front of guest judge and ‘Torn’ singer, Natalie Imbruglia.
His performance of ‘Cry Me A River‘ (the Michael Bublé version), earned him a standing ovation from Cowell – clearly thrilled to see the singer return to the stage after being rejected two years prior.
Making it through the boot camp stage for a second time, the judges’ houses round proved to be the singer’s Achilles’ heel, after it appeared the would-be singer’s luck had run out again. But just when he thought it was over, fate intervened when a suggestion made by guest judge Nicole Scherzinger, led to Payne being placed in a group with fellow contestants – Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik.
The group came third in the competition, but their popularity was undeniable. So much so, that Cowell signed the boys to his Syco Entertainment group.
2012: One Direction Reaches Global Stardom
Following the huge success of their debut album ‘Up All Night‘, across the UK and Ireland, the record was released worldwide – making One Direction the first ever UK group to have their debut album take out #1 spot on US charts.
Liam Payne became part of one of the best-selling boy bands of all time thanks to the huge commercial success of the band’s first album and subsequent world tour.
Payne and his bandmates went from strength-to-strength, receiving gongs from the VMAs, BRIT Awards, and American Music Awards, as well as performing alongside fellow stars, Spice Girls, at the closing ceremony of the London Olympics.
The group released their second album in the same year, leading to a second sell-out world tour and unprecedented fandom, which years later would be credited as creating the “voice of the internet” for pop-culture as we know it.
The group went on to release three more albums, creating five in total over their six-year career, before disbanding indefinitely in 2016.
2016: Liam’s Solo Career Takes Off
Not one to give up on the dream of a long an illustrious career in the music industry, Payne began working on various solo projects, before signing to Republic Records where his debut single “Strip That Down” co-written by Ed Sheeran, was recorded.
The single was released in early 2017 to huge success, reaching top ten spots in both the UK and US.
But amid Payne’s success, one of his proudest moments was yet to come.
2017: Liam Payne Becomes A Dad
On March 22, 2017, Payne welcomed the birth of his son, with his then-partner, Cheryl Cole, whom he’d been in a relationship with since 2016.
Payne shared the news with his followers via an Instagram post just before UK Mother’s Day of that year, gushing about son Bear Grey.
While the couple sadly parted ways a year later in July 2018, the couple had been vocal about their successful co-parenting relationship.
In a 2022 interview with People, Payne spoke candidly about fatherhood and his hopes and wishes for Bear’s future.
“I see him two times a week, three times a week sometimes,” he said. “And I make sure when I see him, he has 100 percent of my time. I make sure that I’m not on my phone or dicking around somewhere else.”
Adding, “So, I like to give him those moments and it’s important, he needs that in his life, he needs his dad in his life, and I’m happy he looks at me like a superhero, and I’m hoping to keep it that way.”
2021: Liam Payne Opens Up About Sobriety
After a period of time away from the limelight, Liam Payne shared a video to his YouTube channel, where the singer revealed he’d been struggling with addiction, and had spent the last 100 days at a rehab facility.
Payne was praised for his candid discussion of addiction and mental health struggles, announcing that he was six months sober and prompting fans to applaud the singer’s strength and courage.
“I just kind of feel like I’ve got more of a grip on life and everything that was getting away from me, I just feel like I’ve got more of a handle on it,” he says in the video. “I just needed to take a little bit of time out for myself actually because I kind of became somebody who I didn’t really recognise anymore. And I’m sure you guys didn’t either. I was in bad shape up until that point and I was really happy to kind of put a stopper to life and work.”
He continued by thanking his fans for their support, saying “I’m very lucky, thanks to you guys at home and thanks to this wonderful life that I have, that I had a vehicle to do that, which is music.”
Payne also commented on the infamous Logan Paul interview where he spoke negatively about his One Direction bandmates, apologising for any hurt he’d caused during that time.
“A lot of what I said came from the wrong place,” he said in relation to his comments about Zayn Malik. “I was so angry at what was going on around me and instead of taking a look inwards I decided to look outwards at everybody else and I took it out on everybody else, which is just wrong, really.”
“So obviously, I want to apologise for that because obviously, that is not me. …You don’t really realise the impact that your words might have on other people.”
He thanked his bandmates for sticking by him, and shared how Cheryl had supported his treatment, “giving me a little bit of freedom to go and get well in that moment, because I had to.”
The singer went on to share that a big part of his journey with sobriety was to improve his relationship with his son.
“There’s no point trying to be a dad when you’ve nothing to teach,” Payne shared, before adding: “I don’t think up until this point I had much to say to him other than just caring for him deeply and loving for him very deeply, which are obviously the most important things.”
“He’s far more smarter than I think I’ll ever be,” he continued. “He’s a wonder. But he’s definitely learning to talk at this moment in time. It’s a lot of fun to be around to watch him grow.”
“Thanks for sticking by me,” he wrote in the caption.
This article originally appeared on Marie Claire Australia and is republished here with permission.
