Liam Payne received a special mention Saturday night when this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees were named in Cleveland, Ohio.
The former One Direction star fell to his death from a third-floor balcony in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, on Wednesday, aged just 31.
While an investigation into the events leading up to the incident is underway, the British singer was included among the memorials at the annual event at Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
An image of Payne, taken during his early days with One Direction, was projected into the auditorium, prompting wild cheers from those in attendance.
The singer died instantly after falling 45 feet from the balcony of his third-floor hotel room to the courtyard below at 5:04 p.m. on Wednesday.
Liam Payne received a special mention Saturday night when this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees were named in Cleveland, Ohio.
The former One Direction star fell from a third-floor balcony in Buenos Aires this Wednesday, when he was only 31 years old.
Police found drugs in his room, including “crystal,” a powerful hallucinogen that causes blackouts and psychotic episodes.
A source told MailOnline: “Where did Liam get the drugs from when he had no money?”
The source also revealed:
- Liam had been ‘reworking’ his favorite One Direction song ‘Fireproof’ on his computer just hours before his death.
- He was in Argentina to renew his US visa and days before he had passed medical and psychological tests that showed he was “totally clean.”
- He was in a “good mood” and had planned to fly back home to his girlfriend Kate Cassidy in Miami on Friday.
- Her last meal was her favorite chocolate chip cookies.
Multiple law enforcement sources have said investigators believe someone at the hotel provided him with drugs.
There have been unconfirmed reports that the hotel conducted an internal investigation and fired at least one employee.
Payne arrived in Argentina on September 30 with his girlfriend Kate and his close friend Roger Nores.
The source said: “Liam’s US visa was expiring and he had to leave the US to renew it, so he decided to go to Buenos Aires to see Niall Horan perform and get his new visa.”
But when Payne went to the US embassy in Buenos Aires last week, he discovered that officials had Googled him and discovered that he had spent several stints in drug and alcohol rehab.
The One Direction star fell from the third floor balcony of the CasaSur hotel (seen in drone image)
Vigils have been held around the world in the days Payne died. One of them in Stockholm, Sweden, on Saturday.
A source close to the late singer has said that he did not commit suicide and could have been saved.
Payne was initially in Argentina with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy (right) before she left for the US in the days before his death.
‘He was ordered to have medical tests, see a doctor, do blood tests and x-rays and see a psychiatrist and all of that was done in the first week. Liam thought the trip would only last a few days but because of all the ordeals he ended up stuck there.’
After spending last weekend at a polo farm outside Buenos Aires, his girlfriend Kate Cassidy flew back to Miami on Monday to watch the couple’s dog while Liam checked into the CasaSur hotel.
“He had no money and his credit cards didn’t work, so he spent all his time in the room.
‘On Tuesday he ordered a McDonald’s. He was happy and in a good mood.
“The test results came back completely clear on Tuesday and he had an appointment at the embassy to have his passport stamped with the visa on Thursday and then he was going to leave Argentina immediately.”
The source said a family friend visited him around 10:00 a.m. that morning to deliver his favorite “American-style” chocolate chip cookies to a bakery three blocks from the hotel.
“He seemed a little drunk, like he had been drinking, but he wasn’t in bad shape. He was happy.
Kicking off the event on Saturday, Dua Lipa took the stage and performed in a sleek leather halter dress with dramatic thigh-high slits that exposed her hips and accentuated her legs.
Cher (pictured) was also among this year’s inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
‘He was replicating Fireproof on his computer. He loved recreating instrumentals and that was his favorite One Direction song.
‘He was getting back into rhythm. He was in a good situation, planning for the future and looking forward to returning to Miami, with his girlfriend and his dog.’
Cher, Mary J. Blige and Ozzy Osbourne were among the inductees into this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an elite group formally inducted into the music pantheon Saturday at a star-studded gala concert.
Kool & the Gang, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, A Tribe Called Quest and Peter Frampton complete the class of 2024 honorees, artists honored at the ceremony held in Cleveland, Ohio, home of the prestigious hall.
Big Mama Thornton, Alexis Korner and John Mayall received special honors for “musical influence”, while Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Dionne Warwick and Norman Whitfield received awards for “musical excellence”.
Suzanne de Passe, a pioneer for female executives in the music business who was prominent at Motown, won the night’s award for non-acting industry professionals.
Payne rose to fame with the band One Direction. He is pictured with his bandmates (left-right) Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik.
Dua Lipa started the evening with a performance of Believe, with Cher joining the pop star on stage to finish her 1998 smash hit, which was credited as the first song to use autotune technology as an instrument.
“I changed the sound of music forever,” she said in her acceptance speech, less than a year after criticizing the hall for not yet putting her on the ballot.
“It was easier to divorce two men than to get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” she joked Saturday night.
Performers included Kelly Clarkson, Sammy Hagar, Slash and Demi Lovato, who appeared for Foreigner.
A group of artists, including Queen Latifah, De La Soul and Busta Rhymes, also performed with the surviving members of the eclectic and pioneering hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest: Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White.