Liam Payne, star of One Direction, dies in Buenos Aires at 31: reports

Liam Payne , the singer who shot to international fame as a member of One Direction , has died. He was 31.

Citing emergency services, CNN reports that the musician was found dead after falling from a balcony on the third floor of a hotel in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.

They cite local people as saying his death occurred at a hotel on Costa Rica Street in the city's Palermo neighborhood.

Payne arrived in South America earlier this month to attend a concert by Niall Horan. He claimed at the time he wanted to "square up a couple of things" with his former bandmate, and was later ridiculed by fans for his behaviour at the Movistar Arena.

Liam James Payne was born in Wolverhampton on August 29, 1993. He first auditioned for The X Factor in 2008, aged just 14. Payne progressed through several rounds of the show but was eventually told by judge Simon Cowell to "come back in two years."

In 2010, Payne returned to The X Factor and competed in several rounds as a solo artist. At the suggestion of guest judge Nicole Scherzinger, he was then put together with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik to form a five-piece boy band.

Although the group, named One Direction, only finished in third place on The X Factor their popularity skyrocketed after the competition. Their debut single, "What Makes You Beautiful", was released in September 2011 and topped the charts in several countries. It went on to win the 2012 Brit Award for British Single of the Year.

One Direction's debut album, Up All Night, was released in November 2011 and became a massive international success, making them first UK group to have reach number one in the United States with their debut album. The band released four more records together: 2012's Take Me Home, 2013's Midnight Memories, 2014's Four and 2015's Made in the AM.

After the band went on hiatus in January 2016, Payne released a solo album, LP1, in December 2019.

He had a son, born in 2017, with former Girls Aloud member and The X Factor judge Cheryl Cole.

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