Life is always eventful. Each of us can understand that within any short period of time, things occur that can change a person’s life path forever. For instance, a young adult can undergo great changes in a five-year period between the ages of eighteen and twenty-three. Those events from that time period, will affect an person’s life for many years to come. I had time to think about such things as I prepared to feature the artist for this week. Like many, I was looking at another young artist experiencing much in a small space of time. This week I chose to feature singer/songwriter Liam Payne.
If you are not a very young female music fan, or a fan from the UK, the name Liam Payne may not be one you recognize immediately. However, you might know a little something about the group Payne sang with in the past. Yes, One Direction was known worldwide even if you cannot name one of their songs. Before going their separate ways for solo careers, they left a short but interesting story in the music industry. Liam Payne’s story is very compelling.
Payne was born August 29, 1993 in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. He was born three weeks early, getting ill frequently. Until the age of four, Payne had regular tests done in hospital as doctors noticed one of his kidneys was scarred and dysfunctional. To help cope with the pain, he had 32 injections in his arm in the morning and evening as a child. As he grew he overcame his childhood illnesses to become very athletic. As a student, Payne was heavily involved in sports, particularly cross-country running. Payne originally joined the Wolverhampton and Bilston Athletics Club to pursue his running career. After failing to make the English National Team for the 2012 Olympic Games, he was placed on the reserve list.
In secondary school Liam Payne took up boxing. “I was bullied by a few people who were much older than me,” he admitted. “I went to camp to learn boxing. I was 12, and my coach was 24. I felt like if I could fight him, I could stand up to anyone.”
Around this time Payne was first introduced to the world of show business. He became a member of the Pink Productions Theatre Company, even appearing as Tony Manero from Saturday Night Fever.
Liam Payne first auditioned for the fifth series of the British Singing Competition The X Factor in 2008, at just 14 years old. He was subsequently cut at the Boot Camp stage, but Simon Cowell, who then changed his mind and asked Payne to return for the judges’ houses stage. Payne was cut again during judges’ houses, but was encouraged by Cowell to “come back in two years”
Payne returned to the show in 2010 for the seventh series. He auditioned with the Michael BublĂ© version of “Cry Me a River”, which earned him four yeses and a standing ovation from Cowell. Payne was considered the second favorite to win the competition following his solo audition. “He failed to progress to the Boys category at judges’ houses.” Four others in his age group did as well, but after a suggestion by Nicole Scherzinger, a guest judge, they were put together to form a five-piece boy band at Wembley Arena, during the bootcamp stage of the competition, thus qualifying for the Groups category. Subsequently, the group got together for two weeks to get to know each other and to practice. For their qualifying song at Judges’ houses, and their first song as a group, One Direction performed an acoustic version of “Torn”. Simon Cowell later commented that the performance convinced him that the group “were confident, fun, like a gang of friends, and kind of fearless as well.” The group quickly gained popularity in the UK, ultimately coming in third place on the show.
For Liam Payne, this was his big break into music. One Direction has released five commercially successful albums, performed on four worldwide tours, and won multiple awards. Payne was known as one of the principal songwriters in One Direction, credited for co-writing more than half of the songs on the band’s third and fourth album.
With all of the success achieved by One Direction, it became time for the members to seek solo careers. This was not surprising because each member started out seeking solo careers. They came together on The X Factor. When Zayn Malik left the group, it was the signal that the time was close for the remaining members to follow.
Before Liam Payne began to move away from One Direction, he worked behind the scenes on several projects. Payne began working as a producer under the monikers “Big Payno” or “Payno”, teaming up with fellow producers AfterHrs to remix several tracks including Cheryl Cole’s “I Don’t Care” in 2014. Payne is also credited with writing Cole’s “I Won’t Break”, off her album Only Human. In August 2014, Payne created and became director of Hampton Music Limited, a publishing company under which his solo projects will appear. Australian band 5 Seconds of Summer is signed to One Mode Productions Limited, on which Payne serves as one of the directors. In 2015, Payne collaborated with songwriter Jamie Scott on Irish band Hometown’s single “The Night We Met”. In early 2016, Payne featured on a track titled “You” by Wiz Khalifa and Juicy J.
It was now time for Liam Payne to deliver music to support his solo career. On July 22, 2016 Payne revealed on Twitter that he had signed a recording contract with Capitol Records. His dĂ©but solo single “Strip That Down”, featuring Quavo and co-written with Ed Sheeran and Steve Mac, was released on May 19, 2017, and sent to US contemporary hit radio. Payne later released the single “Bedroom Floor” and the collaboration with Zedd, “Get Low”. In January 2018, Payne and Rita Ora released the single “For You” from the soundtrack of the film Fifty Shades Freed. The stage was set for the young artist to continue to look forward to releasing his dĂ©but solo album. Regarding his forthcoming dĂ©but album, Payne stated: It’s very eclectic. It’s more like my playlist album; my favorite playlist of songs that I have made over the past year. So, some slow jams, there’s a couple of dance songs on there, with some R&B stuff. So there’s a lot – it’s a lot of different stuff.”
For Liam Payne though, there was a lot more than music happening in his life. Payne began dating singer Cheryl in 2016. As with most celebrity relationships, Cheryl and Liam Payne’s private actions played out in public. Nevertheless, the two musical stars appeared to have something special together. “She is a wonderful, wonderful person and it’s amazing to have someone who can relate to so much of things — someone who’s taken greater steps than me,” Payne told U.K.’s Rollacoaster magazine of Cheryl. He added, “She’s been my dream girl since I was younger. She’s so ace.”
The couple even welcomed a new addition, their son Bear on March 22, 2017. Then, earlier this month the couple announced they had ended their relationship. All of this among the backdrop of preparing material for a début album scheduled to release September 2018.
Liam Payne has experienced a lot of life before turning twenty-five. As I wrote in the introduction, this is what happens for most young adults. Will these events have an effect on the music created in the future? Most likely it will. However, I think there will be more events coming. Interestingly, Payne has demonstrated a benevolent nature and honest drive to help others. I doubt that will change. I do believe Liam Payne will release a very good first album. Another major event in his young life.