Liam Payne’s first audition for The X Factor back in 2008 is being circulated on social media in the wake of his tragic death.
The 31-year-old passed away yesterday (October 16) after reportedly falling from the balcony of his third floor hotel room at the CasaSur hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Police were called to the hotel at around 5:00pm over reports of an ‘aggressive man who could be under the effects of drugs and alcohol’, and were told by the hotel manager a man had fallen from the balcony of his room.
Liam Payne has died at the age of 31 (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
Head of the state emergency medical system Alberto Crescenti confirmed ‘a SAME team arrived and verified the death of this man and later [they] found out that he was a singer in a musical group.’
“Unfortunately, he had injuries that were incompatible with life, as a result of his fall, so we had to confirm his death, there was no possibility of resuscitation,” he added to Argentina’s Todo Noticias TV channel.
Payne rose to fame after appearing on British singing competition The X Factor, going on to become one of five members of band One Direction and fans of the star have since re-shared a clip from his first audition on the talent content while commemorating Payne.
In the clip, Payne can be seen aged 14 performing a rendition of Frank Sinatra’s ‘Fly Me To The Moon’ in front of judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Cheryl Cole.
Payne also told the judges during the audition: “When I’m at school, in general, I think about singing all the time. I should really be concentrating on my school work but I just think about singing too much.”
After finishing his performance, Cowell applauded Payne for having ‘potential’ but said he was ‘missing a bit of grit and emotion and a bit of fun,’ however Cole praised his ‘charisma’.
Payne made it through to the judge’s houses before going home, however, when he returned to the show two years later, he ended up being placed in a boy band and One Direction was formed.
Liam Payne was 14 when he first auditioned for the X-Factor (ITV2)
And fans of the star are rushing to pay their respects as well as share their memories of Payne online.
A Twitter user wrote: “Met Liam when he was 14, auditioning for X-factor, a nice lad who so desperately wanted to be a star. Was therefore really sad to see his struggles with fame in recent years, his death is a tragedy. Thoughts with his son, friends and family.”
“I first met Liam Payne in 2011 back at the X factor early auditions.He was always the chatty one from 1D with boundless energy and would always greet me with a big cheeky grin.
Payne went on to end up in band One Direction (Giovanni Rufino/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)
“A joy to be around .My heart breaks for his family, Cheryl and Bear at this very sad time.Heartbroken,” another added.
And a third resolved: “From auditioning on X-Factor to becoming part of one of the biggest boy bands in the world, Liam Payne’s journey has been nothing short of incredible. Thank you for the music and memories.”
f you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact The Compassionate Friends on (877) 969-0010.
Yesterday (October 16) at around 5:00pm, police were called to the CasaSur hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Authorities were told by the hotel manager a man had fallen from the balcony of his room, confirmed to be that of 31-year-old Payne, who rose to fame as part of band One Direction on the British singing show The X-Factor.
Police said in a statement they were called over reports of an ‘aggressive man who could be under the effects of drugs and alcohol’.
Liam Payne has passed away at the age of 31 (Marc Piasecki/GC Images)
In audio from the Buenos aires security ministry obtained by Reuters, a hotel worker can be heard telling police when the man ‘is conscious he is destroying the room’ and that staff feared for the guest’s own life, needing authorities to ‘send someone’ to help.
And the head of the state emergency medical system has also released a statement adding further details.
Alberto Crescenti said on on Argentina’s Todo Noticias TV channel: ” At 17.04 through the 911 integrated public safety system, we were alerted of a person who was in an internal courtyard of the management of a south house hotel.
“At 17.11 a SAME team arrived and verified the death of this man and later we found out that he was a singer in a musical group.
Payne rose to fame as a member of One Direction (Getty Images/ Mark Metcalfe/WireImage)
“Unfortunately, he had injuries that were incompatible with life, as a result of his fall, so we had to confirm his death, there was no possibility of resuscitation.”
Tributes have since been flying in on social media.
One Twitter user said: “Like this isn’t just the loss of liam payne, this is the loss of one direction like it will never be the same again nothing will ever be the same again.”
“It feels unreal… One Direction was such a huge part of our lives, and now this news about Liam just hits so hard. Rest in peace, Liam,” another added.
Fans have been paying their respects online (Jason Merritt/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
A third commented: “To the friends and family of Liam Payne we send you our deepest condolences for the loss of Liam he will surely be missed.”
And a fourth resolved: “From auditioning on X-Factor to becoming part of one of the biggest boy bands in the world, Liam Payne’s journey has been nothing short of incredible. Thank you for the music and memories.”
UNILAD previously contacted representatives for Payne for comment.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact The Compassionate Friends on (877) 969-0010.
Eminem – real name Marshall Bruce Mathers II – released his latest album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) earlier this year and has been slowly releasing music videos for certain singles.
Eminem shared the music video to ‘Temporary’ in a post to YouTube earlier today (October 3) – the song dedicated to daughter Hailie as a song for her to listen to when the rapper eventually passes away one day.
Em can be heard rapping: “A lot of people ask me, am I afraid of death? The truth is, I think what scares me the most is not being able to say all the things I wanna say to you when I’m no longer here. So, this song is for Hailie, for when that day comes.”
The video features a compilation of shots, made up of photographs of Eminem and daughter, alongside footage of the pair from when she was growing up.
There’s even a shot of a card Hailie wrote Eminem, saying: “I got this card a few years ago and held onto it and now feels like the perfect time to give it to you.
“Thank you for every thing you do and always being there for all of us girls. You truly are the best dad in the world. Love you forever and 100 million dollars forever ever and always. Bean.”
Eminem dedicated ‘Temporary’ to daughter Hailie Jade (YouTube/ EminemMusic)
‘Temporary’ goes on to show videos from Hailie’s wedding day and the rapper seeing her in her dress and breaking down in tears, alongside him walking her down the aisle and them dancing together.
Oh, and it’s quite hard to miss the clip of Hailie revealing to the Real Slim Shady that he’s about to become a grandpa too.
And it’s not taken long for fans to flood to the post to weigh in.
One YouTube user said: “Musicians making tribute songs for their children is one of the purest things on earth, man love this so much.”
A second commented: “The hardest rapper alive is crying. I am crying right now.”
“The exact moment when I started crying 00:01,” a third said.
A fourth wrote: “Eminem really putting me through every damn emotion. This video broke me more than simply listening to the OG song. I didn’t think that was possible.”
And a final resolved: “Btw this is not just a music video, this is a story. video of the year fr tho.”
People are flocking to social media to bah-humbug Queen of Christmas Mariah Carey.
Mariah Carey took to the stage at the American Music Awards (AMAs) ceremony for its 50th Anniversary Special at LA Center Studios in Los Angeles yesterday (October 6).
The 55-year-old is the recipient of 10 AMAs herself and performed several hits from one special album in particular, however not all viewers were happy.
Ahead of her performance, Carey sat down with the AMAs to reflect on the award’s show’s 50th anniversary.
She said: “It’s pretty amazing to be a part of the 50th anniversary of the American Music Awards. This was the first awards show I ever was on. Ever since then, I’ve always just been grateful to be a part of all the moments.”
Carey started her set with ‘Don’t Forget About Us’ kicking off the celebrations for an anniversary of her own – 2025 marking the 20th year since she released tenth studio album The Emancipation of Mimi (2005).
She told the crowds: “It’s really just an incredible thing that it’s lasted this long.”
And then she sung second single from the album titled ‘We Belong Together’.
However, whether or not she actually ‘sung’ the songs live has been questioned by some social media users.
Mariah Carey closing her eyes to shut out the haters as she knows Christmas is coming and that means one thing (YouTube/ Mariah Carey)
One Twitter user said: “Mariah’s lip syncs are always so noticeable #AMAs50.”
“I hate that Mariah has to lip sync now. Her vocals in the 90s were INSANE,” another added.
A third commented: “Do y’all think the final part of Mariah’s performance at the AMAs was live?”
UNILAD has contacted Mariah Carey’s representatives for comment.
However, other users fiercely defended the singer.
A user wrote: “Waking up and watching Mariah at the AMAs.. the legend that she is.”
“FLAWLESS performance Mariah!!” a second commented.
And a third simply resolved: “Man…y’all gotta STOP saying Mariah Carey lip syncs EVERY TIME she performs smh.”
Whether Carey lip-synced some of the lyrics or not, maybe she’s just not fully defrosted in some viewers’ eyes yet?
But she certainly will be in time for her Christmas tour – beginning November 6 until December 17 – alongside the next stretch of her residency.
The singer’s Mariah Carey: The Celebration of Mimi residency began earlier this year and the Live in Las Vegas leg of the tour is set to launch on January 31, Carey performing eight shows before the tour concludes on February 15.
Featured Image Credit: Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty Images/Michael Buckner/Penske Media via Getty Images
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV, Mariah Carey, Music, Social Media, Twitter, Christmas, Entertainment
Poppy Bilderbeck
Al Pacino details what he saw after his pulse stopped in near-death experience
The Godfather actor ‘didn’t see the white light’ but did ‘actually’ experience a shift when his pulse stopped
The Godfather star has opened up about what happened when he contracted covid and his pulse was ‘gone’.
The 84-year-old actor – best known for his roles in The Godfather movies, alongside films such as Serpico (1973), Scarface (1983) and The Irishman (2019) – contracted ‘bad covid’ in 2020 and ended up battling a life-threatening infection.
In an interview with The New York Times, Al Pacino revealed he had ‘bad covid’ but one day was feeling particularly and ‘unusually not good’.
He ended up experiencing a fever and became dehydrated, and so a nurse came to the actor’s house to administer him fluids, however, things ended up taking a turn for the worst.
Pacino recalls: “I was sitting there in my house, and I was gone. Like that. I didn’t have a pulse.
“In a matter of minutes they were there – the ambulance in front of my house. I had about six paramedics in that living room, and there were two doctors, and they had these outfits on that looked like they were from outer space or something. It was kind of shocking to open your eyes and see that. Everybody was around me, and they said: ‘He’s back. He’s here.'”
And the actor even revealed what he experienced when his pulse went.
Al Pacino got ‘bad covid’ (Rich Polk/Variety via Getty Images)
While noting he ‘didn’t see the white light or anything,’ Pacino says he ‘actually did’ experience some sort of shift, although ultimately he explained: “There’s nothing there.”
In true thespian fashion, Pacino continued: “As Hamlet says, ‘To be or not to be’; ‘The undiscovered country from whose bourn, no traveler returns.’ And he says two words: ‘no more.’
“It was no more. You’re gone. I’d never thought about it in my life. But you know actors: It sounds good to say I died once. What is it when there’s no more?”
He reflected on the moment his pulse was ‘gone’ as being very much like ‘you’re here’ one moment and then ‘you’re not’.
Pacino resolved: “I thought: Wow, you don’t even have your memories. You have nothing. Strange porridge.”
However, now with a one-year-old addition to the family – in the form of youngest son Roman – to care for, Pacino reflects there’s a campaign for him to ‘stick around around a little longer if it’s possible’.
So, hopefully we’ll all be seeing Pacino on the big screen once more again soon.
