Nicole Scherzinger: Working with Liam Payne was a blessing

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US singer Nicole Scherzinger said the recent opportunity to work with former One Direction member Liam Payne was a “blessing”.

Payne died last week at the age of 31 when he fell from the third-floor balcony of the Casa Sur Hotel in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.

TV personality Scherzinger, 46, was a judge on The X Factor when Payne auditioned in 2010 and helped form boy band One Direction on the show.

On Friday, the Pussycat Dolls star paid tribute to Payne on Instagram, posting a photo of the pair with former Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland, who were all announced as judges on a new Netflix show called Building The Band in August.

The post said: “Dear Liam, I will forever cherish and cherish the time we spent together, from 15 years ago when One Direction was born to a few weeks ago.

“It was a blessing to work with you recently. We shared the same love and passion for music and I will always remember the meaningful and joyful conversations we had.

“It is so hard to process that you are no longer here, but I am grateful to have known your kind heart, your sweet soul and your character.

“You brought so much joy, light and laughter into the lives of those who truly knew you. I will “miss” you, my friend, and carry you in my heart. My thoughts and prayers are with your family.”

Since news of his death, tributes have poured in for Payne, including from his former partner Cheryl, his One Direction bandmates and music mogul Simon Cowell.

Payne's bandmates: Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Harry Styles; They said in a joint statement that they were “completely devastated” and would miss the singer “terribly,” adding that “the memories we shared with him will be remembered forever.”

Malik, who left One Direction in 2015 before the group went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016, postponed his US tour to 2025 following Payne's death.

Over the weekend, thousands of Payne fans tearfully remembered the late singer at memorial events in Britain and many other parts of the world.

The Casa Sur Hotel has become a place for Payne fans to pay their respects, with people leaving flowers, candles and photos of the singer in a makeshift shrine around a tree at the hotel entrance.

Payne first auditioned for The X Factor in 2008 at the age of 14, singing Frank Sinatra's “Fly Me To The Moon.” Judge Cowell told him to return to the talent show two years later.

Payne previously said he struggled with alcoholism at the height of his success with One Direction, describing to The Diary Of A CEO podcast host Steven Bartlett that he had hit “rock bottom”.