Liam Payne and One Direction songs spike on iTunes after star’s loss of life

Liam Payne songs have re-entered the music streaming charts following his tragic death aged 31.

The One Direction star plunged from the third floor of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Wednesday, and died instantly from multiple injuries that led to ‘internal and external haemorrhaging’.

As fans paid tribute on social media, a number of the star’s solo tracks as well as poignant One Direction songs have seen a huge increase in streams.

Payne’s last single, Teardrops, released in March, entered the US iTunes chart, alongside his 2017 debut solo single  Strip That Down.

One Direction hits Story Of My Life (2013), debut What Makes You Beautiful (2011) and Night Changes (2014) also re-entered the charts.

Payne’s only solo album, 2019’s LP1 also charted on US iTunes, as fans streamed his record in his memory – along with One Direction albums Four (2019), Midnight Memories (2013) and debut Up All Night (2011). 

In the UK Teardrops entered the iTunes chart at number seven while his collaboration with Rita Ora – For You, Familiar with J Balvin and Strip That Down also appeared on the charts – with LP1 re-entering the charts at number 16.

Meanwhile One Direction tracks including Kiss You and Best Song ever were among the 10 new entries on the chart. – with the boyband’s albums also spiking in streams.

Further tests are now taking place to see if the singer had consumed drugs and alcohol which could have played a contributing factor in the Brit’s death.

The autopsy took place at a city morgue in Viamonte Street a 15-minute drive south-west of Hotel CasaSur Palermo, the boutique hotel where the pop star plunged from a third-floor balcony yesterday around 5pm local time.

Liam’s body was taken last night to the morgue, where post-mortems following deaths in the city centre traditionally take place.

Alberto Crescenti, a director of emergency medical response service SAME, had earlier revealed the injuries Liam sustained in the fall included a fractured skull.

According to the emergency medical team sent to the scene he had a fracture in the base of his skull, extremely serious injuries,’ Mr Crescenti said.

He also told TN television that Payne was dead when paramedics arrived, adding: ‘Our role was to head there quickly, give medical attention, and try to resuscitate him, but his injuries were incompatible with life.’

Payne’s identity was confirmed by emergency services by checking his passport, but police do not yet have conclusive evidence regarding the circumstances of his fall.

The singer fell from a third-floor suite with a balcony overlooking an interior pool and the hotel’s on-site Michelin-star restaurant where he landed in the courtyard.

Following reports of his death city ambulance service provider spokesman Alberto Crescenti said Mr Payne had fallen around 40 metres and suffered ‘severe injuries which were incompatible with life.’

He said: ‘The alarm was raised at 5.04pm local time saying a person was lying in an internal patio at Casa Sur.

‘At 5.11pm an ambulance arrived and the man was certified dead.

‘Afterwards we found out he had been a famous singer. Unfortunately the injuries he had suffered as a result of the fall proved to be fatal. There was no possibility of resuscitating him.’

Liam began his pursuit to stardom when he initially auditioned for X Factor in 2008.

At only 14-years-old Liam impressed judges with his own version of Fly Me To The Moon by Frank Sinatra – but was later eliminated from the show.

However Payne gave his singing career another go auditioning for the competition again in 2010, where he quickly shot 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 releasing five albums with one of the biggest boybands of all time, Liam released his first solo album titled LP1 in 2019.

His singles Strip That Down co-written with Ed Sheeran climbed its way to number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that same year.

Over the course of his music career, the popstar collaborated with the likes of 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 pair welcomed their son Bear Grey on March 22, 2017. The parents later split in 2018.

He was previously in a relationship with British pop sensation Cheryl Cole and the pair welcomed their son Bear Grey on March 22, 2017

Following his romance with the Girls Aloud singer, Liam had an on-and-off relationship with ex-fiancée Maya Henry, and the pair called it quits in May, 2022.