Liam Payne Jeff Spicer/Getty Images
Seven months before Liam Payne died at age 31, he released his last solo single.
“Teardrops is out now 💧,” Payne wrote via Instagram in March. “This song is born from many tears, not all mine. I hope you love it like I do and not too many of you can relate.”
As evidenced by the lyrics, “Teardrops” is about the challenges of overcoming heartbreak. The track was cowritten by ‘NSync alum JC Chasez and Payne’s frequent collaborator Jamie Scott.
“Teardrops are falling / Down your face again, ’cause I / Don’t know how to love you when I am broken too,” Payne sang. “Maybe your words make sense / I could be the problem, I’m so sorry / I know we could just be friends / But I don’t know when we come down from this softly.”
Since One Direction’s 2016 split, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik have had varying levels of success in the music industry. All five original members have embarked on solo careers, with Malik becoming the first to do so after abruptly leaving the boy band in March 2015. He subsequently signed […]
He continued, “Checking on my phone, tryna see what I did last night / Baby, I’m hating on myself / ‘Cause I hate it when I make you cry.”
In a separate verse, Payne sang about a promise to reconnect.
“Teardrops are falling / I’ll make you love me again,” he crooned. “But I don’t know how to love you when / I am broken too.”
At the time of the single’s release, Payne further detailed the musical inspiration.
“Teardrops is about the vulnerability of heartbreak and the challenge of overcoming those moments,” he said in a press release. “This song marks the start of a new beginning. There’s lots more to come in 2024.”
Liam Payne Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Payne’s debut solo record, LP1, dropped in 2019. He previously appeared on five studio albums as a part of One Direction alongside Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik. (Malik left the group in 2015, one year before the band went on an indefinite hiatus.)
While Payne did not disclose if any of his past relationships inspired “Teardrops,” he has a star-studded dating history. Payne previously dated Danielle Peazer, childhood friend Sophia Smith and Cheryl Cole, with whom he shares 7-year-old son Bear. After splitting from Cole, Payne moved on with Maya Henry and proposed in 2020. The pair broke up two years later.
Payne was last in a relationship with Kate Cassidy ahead of his death. Us Weekly confirmed on Wednesday, October 16, that the “Strip That Down” performer fell to his death in Buenos Aires. He was reportedly on the third floor over the CasaSur Palermo Hotel when he went over the side.
A cause of death has not been publicly shared. Payne is survived by his parents, his two older sisters and son Bear.
When “Teardrops” came out, Payne celebrated the milestone with Bear.
“I want to be on a billboard one day daddy 🐻 ❤️,” the Brit Award winner wrote via Instagram in March, sharing a photo of his son looking at a Spotify billboard for the new tune.
