Liam Payne Teased a One Direction Reunion Before His Death
Liam Payne teased a One Direction reunion before his death at the age of 31, saying he believed the members would get back together for a "really great show."
Dan Wootton shared the conversation he had with Liam "a few years ago" in a Substack story about the singer's death on Wednesday, October 16.
"He insisted to me: 'I know it's a definite thing that will happen. I've got a weird feeling it might be sooner than we think,'" Dan, 41, wrote, going on to detail how Liam envisioned the reunion.
"It could be a really, really great show – we can each go out and do our own thing and then come back together. We saw that at Take That shows with Robbie Williams – it's like five concerts in one. We could feature two people doing one song and two doing something different," Liam explained. "Whether those things happen is completely up to everybody else. I'm proud of everything we're doing."
One Direction announced in 2015 that they would be going on a "hiatus" the following year but never reunited. The boy band's final performance was on December 13, 2015, during the live finale of The X Factor UK.
The group formed on the show in 2010, when all five members — including Liam, Niall HoranHarry StylesZayn MalikLouis Tomlinson — tried out individually, but were put together as a five-person singing group by judge Simon Cowell. Although they didn't win The X Factor, One Direction went on to become one of the most successful boy bands of all time.
Zayn, 31, left the group in March 2015. All of the members went on to pursue solo careers with varying degrees of success.
Harry, 30, has become one of the biggest pop singers in the world , selling out world tours and winning the coveted Album of the Year Grammy Award for Harry's House in 2023. Niall, 31, achieved solo success with his three studio albums and appearing as a judge on NBC's The Voice.
Liam had radio success with his 2017 debut solo single "Strip That Down," but his 2019 debut album LP1 failed to make waves.
The Wolverhampton, England, native attempted to reunite with Niall shortly before his death. The "Slow Hands" singer played the 14,000 seat Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on October 2. Liam told fans in an October 1 Snapchat post that was shared on X that he and girlfriend Kate Cassidy were going to Buenos Aires "because we want to" and "because Niall Horan is playing down there. And I think we might just go and say 'hello.'"
"It's been a while since me and Niall have spoken. We've got a lot to talk about, and I would like to square up a couple of things with the boy," Liam revealed. "No bad vibes or anything like that, just we need to talk."
While Liam was photographed by fans in the arena watching Niall's show, it's unclear if the two met up afterward. Liam and Kate remained in Buenos Aires, while Niall traveled on to finish up the remaining three dates of his The Show: Live on Tour world tour.
Katie, 25, returned home to the United States on Monday, October 14, explaining in a TikTok video that day that she was heading back to her home state of Florida and "was so ready to leave" Argentina after spending two weeks there with Liam.
