Liam Payne's Career Journey from Working with One Direction to Becoming a Solo Artist, Collaborating with Top Musicians - Passed Away at the Age of 31

Liam Payne, born on August 29, 1993, was an English singer and songwriter known as a member of the boy band One Direction. His music career began when he auditioned for The X Factor in 2008. At that time, he was 14 years old and advanced to the next round after singing Fly Me To The Moon by Frank Sinatra. However, he failed at the Boot Camp stage and had to wait two years before trying again.

In 2010, Liam auditioned again for The X Factor and this time sang Cry Me A River by Michael Bublé. His performance received praise from the judges, including Simon Cowell, who then decided to combine Liam with four other contestants to form a group known as One Direction. The group achieved massive popularity and finished in third place in the competition.

After The X Factor, One Direction was signed by Syco Music with a contract worth £2 million. They released their debut album, Up All Night, in 2011, which immediately became a huge global success. Liam is known as one of the main songwriters in the group, contributing to more than half of the songs on their third and fourth albums.

One Direction released five studio albums and undertook four world tours during their active years. However, after Zayn Malik's departure in 2015, Liam took over some vocal parts that were previously sung by Zayn. This showcased his strong and flexible vocal abilities across various music genres.

After the group's hiatus in 2016, Liam began pursuing a solo career. He signed with Republic Records and released his debut single Strip That Down in May 2017. The song became a huge hit, reaching the third position on the UK Singles Chart and the top ten on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Liam also explored various collaborations with other artists such as Rita Ora on the song For You from the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack. Additionally, he collaborated with J Balvin on the song Familiar, which was released in April 2018.

In addition to his music career, Liam is also involved in music production under the alias Big Payno. He collaborates with various producers to remix songs, including works by Cheryl Cole. This shows that Liam is not just a singer but also has talent in music production.

In 2018, Liam released his first EP titled First Time, featuring a collaboration with French Montana. This EP marked an important step in his solo career and showcased his artistic maturity after years with One Direction.