Harry Styles is opening up about the loss of his former bandmate Liam Payne, sharing that after his tragic death, he vowed to live life to the fullest to further honor him.
During a Wednesday interview with Zane Lowe ahead of the release of his new album Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally, Lowe noted that something the “Aperture” singer said about artists being “ordinary people” reminded him of Payne.
“I love the idea to break that spell of what extraordinary is to other people in an attempt to try to create something that’s beautifully ordinary for yourself,” Lowe said. “I just thought of Liam when you said that, you know, I thought of some, and not just Liam, but people who struggled to get out of extraordinary situations.”
The three-time Grammy Award winner responded, “Yeah. It’s really like, you know, full transparency, it’s like something that I, even the idea of talking about it, I struggle with that a little bit even.”
“I think there was a period when he passed away where I really struggled with kind of like acknowledging how strange it is to have people kind of like own part of your grief in a way. I have such strong feelings around my friend passing away,” Styles continued. “And then suddenly being, you know, like aware of there’s maybe like a desire from other people of you to convey that in some way, or it means you’re not feeling what you’re feeling or something, you know?”
Payne died on Oct. 16, 2024, after falling from the third floor of a hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was 31.
Styles explained that loss of any kind is incredibly hard, “but it’s so difficult to lose a friend who is so like you in so many ways.”
“It’s like, I saw someone with the kindest heart who just wanted to be great,” Styles said.
He added that “it was a really important moment for me in terms of taking a look at my life and being able to say to myself, ‘OK, what do I want to do with my life? How do I want to live my life?’ And I think the greatest way you can honor your friends who pass away is by living your life to the fullest. Like super special person and really sad.”
Following his death, Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik shared a joint statement on Instagram, writing that they were “completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing.”
“In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly,” One Direction‘s statement continued. “The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever. For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us. We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam.”
The British boy band One Direction was assembled on The X Factor in 2010. Consisting of Payne, Styles, Horan, Tomlinson and Malik, they quickly shot to international stardom, and remained so through March 2015, when Malik announced he was exiting the group. They remained as a foursome through the beginning of 2016.
Aside from talking about Payne, Styles gave a wide-ranging interview with Lowe where he spoke about several tracks from his upcoming record and spoke about winning album of the year at the 2023 Grammy Awards for his album Harry’s House. Styles said he wrote a letter to himself days before the ceremony to address whatever happened, whether he won or lost.
“I wanted to catch myself with whatever happened, if I was disappointed or if I was feeling myself a little too much,” Styles said. “I’m paraphrasing, but it basically said something like, ‘Whatever everyone just told you, it’s not true. Remember why you made it. That is the reward.’”
Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally drops Friday night and is one of the most anticipated albums of 2026. Styles will go on tour for the album this year, and he’ll play a 30-show residency at Madison Square Garden from August through October.
He’s set for a one night only performance in Manchester this Friday, where he will perform his latest album in full. That performance will air on Netflix this Sunday at 3 p.m. EST.
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