During his final performance in 2022, Liam Payne performed a rendition of Justin Bieber‘s ‘Love Yourself’ – check out the video below.
The former One Direction member tragically died last night (October 16) aged 31, after reportedly falling from the third floor of an Argentine hotel. CNN has since confirmed the British singer’s death via a statement from local authorities.
Payne’s performance of the 2015 hit song was a part of his Here’s To The Future Valentine’s Show’ acoustic show at a private venue in London. The stripped-back set was live-streamed via Veeps. His rendition of the track highlighted his vocal ability and technique.
Released as the third single from Bieber’s 2015 LP ‘Purpose’, ‘Love Yourself’ was written by Payne’s “good friend, Mr. Ed Sheeran” and went on to reach the Number One spot on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
That same year, Bieber and One Direction engaged in some friendly competition as both musicians released albums (the former’s ‘Purpose’ and the latter’s ‘Made In The A.M.) on November 13. Fans went on to feud over which LP would land the top spot on the charts and the ‘Baby’ singer went on to share a playful jab at the five-piece on Snapchat with a video making a scared face and saying: “That face you make when you come out with an album on the same day as Justin Bieber.”
All beef between Payne and Bieber was squashed with the late singer previously telling MailOnline in 2019 (as per Rolling Stone), “Me and Justin had a really long chat once in his trailer. I went in to say to him: ‘It’s all good. You don’t need to do whatever.’ And then we had a really long chat, and he’s a really nice kid.”
Appearing as a guest on social media star Logan Paul’s podcast ImPAULsive back in 2022, the ‘Strip That Down’ singer cleared the air again and revealed that he related to the ‘Sorry’ hitmaker.
“It was sitting with him and having that conversation and I was like dude, I’ve always felt for you. I said ‘Number one, I’ve done all of the things that you’ve done and I’ve never been caught for them,” Payne said.
“Number two, I’ve always really felt for you mate and I think in our situation, we all suffer from the same disease and when I look at my boys and I turn left and right, I’ve got someone who is going through exactly what I am going through and I know I your camp, you’re you and there’s no one like you so you can’t turn around and have that shoulder.’ And he was like ‘Bro, that’s given me chills’ and we became friends through some rivalry.”
News of Payne’s death was broken by local newspaper La Nacion, who claimed he fell from the third floor of an Argentinian hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood. SAME, the Argentine emergency medical service, told Rolling Stone Payne fell from a height of “about 13 or 14 meters,” and that he “suffered severe injuries incompatible with life.”
Since then, a wave of tributes have flooded in for the singer, with former bandmate Harry Styles’ mother writing “just a boy…” on social media.
Meanwhile Zayn Malik’s sister Waliyha shared an old picture of herself with Liam, writing: “I can’t believe it, I honestly have no words for this sad moment… I really can’t believe it”.
Liam Gallagher also commented on Payne’s passing, tweeting: “life is precious”, before confirming he had heard the news of the singer’s untimely death: “I have it’s very sad.”
Meanwhile, fellow X Factor star Rebecca Ferguson has spoken out against the “exploitation and profiteering of young stars” in her tribute to Payne.
