Liam Payne, former One Direction singer, dies aged 31 after falling from a hotel in Argentina

Former One Direction singer Liam Payne died Wednesday after falling into the courtyard of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Argentina's emergency services director Alberto Crescenti confirmed to CBS News.

He was 31 years old.

Crescenti said an ambulance arrived seven minutes later. He declined to answer questions about the incident, including whether Payne jumped from the balcony or accidentally fell, The Associated Press reported.

Police were dispatched to the hotel in response to a 911 call about an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” Pablo Policicchio, a spokesman for the Buenos Aires Municipality Department of Security, said in a statement to The AP. Policicchio said Payne “threw himself from the balcony of his room.”

According to media reports, Payne, who came from Great Britain, had attended a performance by his former bandmate Niall Horan in Argentina. Payne posted a series of social media videos showing him heading to Argentina.

Last year, Payne has postponed his South American tour – with shows in Peru, Colombia, Chile, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico – after a serious kidney infection. He explained to fans that he was hospitalized due to illness in a video explaining his decision.

Payne, who has struggled with alcohol, announced in 2023 that he had been sober for 100 days. While a podcast interview in 2021He explained how One Direction members became too famous too fast – and said he often turned to drinking to cope with the increasing pressure of being a member of the globally famous boy band.

One Direction members Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik formed in 2010 after appearing on The X Factor's Boot Camp and sold 70 million records by 2020, according to the BBC. “X Factor” presenter and entertainment industry mogul Simon Cowell initially founded them as a boy band.

One Direction won a big win at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, picking up Best New Artist, Best Pop Video and Most Share-Worthy Video awards for their song “What Makes You Beautiful.”

At the height of their fame, Payne co-wrote over 30 songs for the group.

Rumors began circulating that the band would split up when Zayn Malik announced he was leaving the band in 2015. At the time, the band released a statement saying: “Niall, Harry, Liam and Louis will continue as a four-piece and are looking forward to the upcoming concerts of their world tour and the recording of their fifth album, which is due to be released later this year.

In total, the band released five studio albums (Malik was featured on four of them) with hits like “What Makes You Beautiful” and “Story of My Life”.

After the band announced in 2016 that they would be taking an extended hiatus, each member signed their own record deals and released at least one studio album as solo artists. Payne signed a solo contract with the UK division of Capitol Records, about a month after the former bandmate Harry Styles signed a record deal with Colombia Records.

Payne has recorded in many different musical genres including pop, hip-hop, Latin and electronic music. In May 2017, he released his first single “Strip That Down” with Migos Quavos. His debut studio album “LP1” was released in December 2019.

Since the release of his studio album, he has released three songs and has also experienced a turbulent personal time. In a video released last year titled “I'm back…”, Payne apologized to his fans for being “MIA” and needing to take some time off for himself.

“I had to leave to get better,” he said.

Payne had a son in 2017 with former “X Factor” judge Cheryl Cole.

Michael Roppolo contributed to this report.