Simon Cowell broke his silence following the sudden death of Liam Payne in Buenos Aires at the age of 31.
The former One Direction star died after falling 45 feet from a third-floor balcony of the CasaSur Palmero Hotel in Argentina.
The music mogul met Payne when he auditioned for the X Factor for the first time at the age of 14.
The mourning music mogul released a moving tribute to the “kind, funny and talented” pop star, who “never forgot her fans.”
He wrote: “You never really know how you feel about someone until a moment like this happens.”
Simon Cowell broke his silence after the sudden death of Liam Payne in Buenos Aires at the age of 31.
A selfie of Liam Payne in Argentina before his sudden death at age 31
Simon has posted a touching tribute to Liam on Instagram describing him as “kind, funny and talented”.
‘Liam, I’m devastated. With a broken heart. And I feel empty. And I want you to know how much love and respect I have for you. Every tear I have shed is a memory of you.
“This is very difficult to put into words right now.”
Continuing his tribute to the late 31-year-old, the mourning music mogul continued: “I came out today and thought about so many times we spent together.
‘I wanted to let you know what I would always say to the thousands of people who would always ask me.
‘What’s Liam like? And I would tell them that you are kind, funny, sweet, thoughtful, talented, humble and focused.
“And how much love you really had for the fans.”
‘I always thought you five in the band were brothers. And regarding your messages today, I think you were.
‘And now Liam, I can see the effect you had on so many people. Because you left us too soon.
‘Rest in peace my friend. And I send my love, thoughts and prayers to his family.”
Before his sudden death, around 5 p.m. (ART), the pop star had attended his former bandmate Niall Horan’s tour of the Latin American country.
A heartbreaking video shows Liam Payne singing and dancing at the concert with his partner Katie Cassidy.
After the concert, she posted a tragic photo with Niall on Snapchat with the caption: “Reunited.”
Separate posts from the final moments of the star’s life showed him enjoying lunch in his hotel room, where he revealed that the couple had “woken up at 1pm every day” and had decided on Forest Gump as Halloween costume.
A heartbreaking video shows Liam Payne singing and dancing at his former bandmate Niall Horan’s home, where he later posted a photo with Niall on Snapchat with the caption: “Reunited.”
His girlfriend Kate Cassidy posted a photo of the couple on her Instagram last August.
Another tragic selfie was captioned: “Beautiful day in Argentina” before the star shared a photo from her hotel, writing: “Happy to have had some time off” followed by a heart emoji.
He shared another photo with Kate with the caption: “Quality time.”
Liam began his quest for stardom when he initially auditioned for the X Factor in 2008.
At just 14, Liam impressed the judges with his own version of Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me To The Moon, but was later eliminated from the show.
However, Payne gave his singing career another shot by auditioning for the competition again in 2010, where he quickly rose to fame as part of One Direction.
He and his former bandmates Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson were brought together by Simon Cowell and former judge Nicole Scherzinger, who saw their potential as a group.
After a few weeks of getting to know each other and rehearsing non-stop, the group impressed Simon at their audition for Judge’s Houses and moved on to the live shows.
Pop Svengali later admitted to Rolling Stone that it took him “about a millionth of a second” to spot the group’s global potential.
Fan reaction was also instant, and 1D’s hysteria soon overshadowed the show. Despite the adoration, the band eventually finished third on the X Factor, but soon after Cowell sealed their fate by signing all five to a £2 million Syco contract.
Eager to capitalize on the boys’ already devoted fan base, Cowell moved quickly with recording the band’s debut album beginning in January 2011.
Payne was seen contemplating a Forest Gump Halloween costume: he would die just 15 days before the holiday.
The star heartbreakingly said she was “happy to have some time off” less than an hour before she fell to her death.
Representatives for Liam Payne’s ex-fiancée Maya Henry told DailyMail.com: “At the moment she is obviously in shock.” (pictured: Payne and Henry in 2019 at Paris Fashion Week)
In September of that year, One Direction’s first single was released, with What Makes You Beautiful reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart, after becoming Sony Music Entertainment’s most pre-ordered single in history.
Their debut album, Up All Night, was also a bestseller, becoming the best-selling debut album in the UK in 2011, and the record led to their first tour which began in the UK in December.
After Malik announced his departure from the band in 2015, the band members went their separate ways.
During their time as a group, One Direction won five Brit Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, racked up more than three billion YouTube views, and sold 50 million records worldwide.
After releasing five albums with one of the biggest boy bands of all time, Liam released his first solo album titled LP1 in 2019.
His single Strip That Down co-written with Ed Sheeran rose to number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that same year.
Throughout her music career, the pop star collaborated with artists such as J Balvin, French Montana, Dixie D’Amelio and A Boogie Wit da Hoodie.
He was previously in a relationship with British pop sensation Cheryl Cole and the couple welcomed their son Bear Gray on March 22, 2017. The parents later separated in 2018.
He was previously in a relationship with British pop sensation Cheryl Cole and the couple welcomed their son Bear Gray on March 22, 2017.
Liam photographed with his son Bear as a newborn
After Malik announced his departure from the band in 2015, the band went their separate ways.
After releasing five albums with one of the biggest boy bands of all time, Liam released his first solo album titled LP1 in 2019.
Throughout her music career, the pop star collaborated with artists such as J Balvin, French Montana, Dixie D’Amelio and A Boogie Wit da Hoodie.
Following his romance with Ms. Cole, Liam had an on-again, off-again relationship with his ex-fiancee Maya Henry, with the couple breaking up in May 2022.
This is breaking news. Updates to follow.