In an interview for Billboard published on Thursday, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber spoke about how the former Pussycat Dolls star served as a mentor to the One Direction singer throughout his career.
Webber is currently working with Scherzinger on the Broadway revival of musical Sunset Boulevard.
“One thing about Nicole is that once she’s committed to something, she is the most incredible company member and leader of any performer I know. And do you know what? I suppose something that hasn’t been said, and I suppose I could say, is that, of course, she mentored Liam from One Direction,” he stated. “On the Wednesday when he died, she was still texting him that day, and (that evening) the reviewers came in (to see Sunset Boulevard), and she’d just heard that he died. And the fact that she even did the show at all is extraordinary.”
Accordingly, Webber went on to praise Scherzinger’s professionalism.
“I mean she is an amazing, amazing woman. She is, without any question, one of the finest performers I’ve ever worked with,” the musical theatre impresario gushed.
Scherzinger has not yet commented on Webber’s claim.
Payne died at the age of 31 on 16 October, having fallen from a third-floor balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Scherzinger and Payne’s professional relationship dates to 2010, when she worked as a judge on The X Factor UK.
During the show, the Baby Love singer collaborated with Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh to form One Direction, also including Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan.
More recently, Scherzinger and Payne had been tapped to act as mentors, along with Destiny’s Child star Kelly Rowland, on a Netflix music competition show titled Building the Band.
It’s believed production on the first series has wrapped, though it remains unclear if it will ever be aired.
