October 18, 2024, published at 10:09 am ET
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A source said DailyMail.com: “Liam’s rise was enormous and he could not earn it back.
“Of all the One Direction guys, Liam was on the wrong path musically.”
Payne originally signed with Sony while with the boy band, but after announcing their hiatus in 2016, he was picked up by Capitol Records, a label owned by Universal, to launch a solo career.
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But after a corporate reshuffle, Payne became part of Universal Music.
The label posted a tribute to the singer on Instagram, saying they were “devastated” over his death.
The statement added: “His legacy will live on through his music and the countless fans he inspired and who adored him.
“We extend our deepest condolences to Liam’s family and loved ones.”
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His PR’s dismissal came after Payne’s ex-fiancée Maya Henry launched legal proceedings against the singer after accusing him of repeatedly contacting her.
A source said DailyMail.com: “It’s as if Liam’s entire music career that he had built since going solo eight years ago was crumbling, leaving very little for him.
“It must have absolutely devastated him.”
Payne died the following Wednesday fell from the balcony of his hotel on the third floor in Buenos Aires, only 31 years old.
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RadarOnline.com revealed the first One direction Star spoke to a fellow hotel guest shortly before his death, who was concerned about his erratic behavior, and told them: “I was in a boy band. That’s why I’m so damned.”
The American hotel guest, known as Rebecca (not her real name), told how one of her friends was supposed to stay in Payne’s room but had yet to leave it, and staff were “a bit tense” about his behaviour.
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She claimed the singer seemed eager for attention when he met Rebecca and her friends.
Speak with DailyMail.com, she said: “I came into the hotel and he was waiting by the lift, and it was so clear he wanted someone to recognize him, there was something desperate about him.
‘I was with my friends and we knew who he was, but none of us were concerned about it.
When the elevator came, he suddenly said to us without any prompting, “Yes, I’m Liam,” actually drawing it out, and then said, “Okay, come on, get in the elevator with me, I like to cuddle.” .
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“I decided against it and waited for the next one, but a few other girls got in with him and halfway through he started saying, ‘Oh, you’re Americans, I live in West Palm Beach.
“I know Americans. You’re fucking crazy. You’re fucking dangerous.
“And then he grabs a girl who I think was with him and starts fake choking her, but very lightly, but the others found it really disturbing.”
Rebecca said she returned to the lobby ten minutes later and shortly after. Payne came back, casually dangling his open laptop from a corner.
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He then started reading emails after plopping down on the couch, wearing a white vest, cargo pants and sneakers.
She continued: “I have a blind relative and I realized that for some reason he had the laptop on accessibility setting so that every time he moved the mouse and hovered over something, the machine spoke out loud to tell him where the cursor was.
‘I assumed he also did that for the attention. Then he opened his emails and saw one that clearly upset him.
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“Suddenly he grabbed the computer, shouted ‘f*** this s**t mate’ and started hitting the computer on the floor.
“Everyone, especially the staff, was very shocked. It’s a luxury hotel and his behavior was so out of place: people were just chilling.”
It was later discovered that his hotel room was full white powder and other drug paraphernaliaand his TV screen was smashed.