Three weeks after Liam Payne‘s shocking death, the Jonas Brothers appeared to pay tribute by performing One Direction’s “Night Changes” at the siblings’ concert in Highland, Calif., on Sunday night (Nov. 11).
Standing in a line onstage at Yaamava’ Theater, Nick, Joe and Kevin gave the song a delicate touch — the “Jealous” singer sharing lead vocals with the DNCE frontman while strumming dual electric guitars with the eldest Jonas brother. “We’re only gettin’ older, baby/ And I’ve been thinkin’ about it lately/ Does it ever drive you crazy/ Just how fast the night changes?” the trio sing as the crowd joined in.
At the end of the tune, Nick sang part of the last line — “It’ll never change….” — before pointing to the audience to finish it for him. “… for me and you,” fans delivered before applauding.
The moment was inevitably full of unspoken emotions, as it comes as many in the music world — and certainly those who were close to Payne — continue to process the loss of the “Strip That Down” musician. On Oct. 16, the ex-boy band star fell to his death from the third-story balcony of his hotel in Buenos Aires, with toxicology reports later determining that he had “alcohol, cocaine and prescription antidepressants” in his system when he died.
Police are still investigating the events that transpired leading up to the fall and detained three people in connection to the case this month. They were charged with abandonment of a person followed by death and the supply and facilitation of narcotics, according to the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor, but one of them — 24-year-old waiter Braian Nahuel Paiz, who claims to have partied with the star the night of his death — recently publicly denied that he’d given Payne drugs.
Payne is survived by a son, Bear, whom he shares with ex Cheryl Cole. Many of the X Factor alum’s friends and family posted messages of grief in the days following his death, including all four of his former One Direction bandmates: Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson. In a separate full-band statement, the foursome wrote, “We are completely devastated … We will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly. The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever.”
Watch the Jonas Brothers cover “Night Changes” below.
