Music mogul Simon Cowell said he is “truly devastated” after the death of One Direction star Liam Payne, adding “every tear I have shed is a memory of you”.
Payne found fame alongside Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Harry Styles when The X Factor creator Cowell put them together to form One Direction on the ITV talent show in 2010.
Cowell has joined those in the music industry and beyond in remembering the singer, after police in Argentina said he died falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires.
“You never really know how you feel about someone until a moment like this happens,” he said in a statement on Instagram.
“Liam, I am truly devastated. Heartbroken. And I feel empty.
“And I want you to know how much love and respect I have for you. Every tear I have shed is a memory of you.”
Cowell said the singer’s seven-year-old son, whose mother is former X Factor judge Cheryl, will be “so proud” of what he achieved during his 31 years.
“I have met your son, Bear. He has your smile and that twinkle in his eyes you have,” Cowell wrote.
“He will be so proud of everything you achieved. And how you achieved it.”
The 65-year-old titan of the music industry said he would tell the thousands of fans that Payne was “kind, funny, sweet, thoughtful, talented, humble, focused” and “how much love you genuinely had for the fans”.
Payne first auditioned for The X Factor in 2008 when he was 14, singing Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me To The Moon, with judge Cowell telling him to return to the talent show two years later.
In 2010 he impressed the judges with a rendition of Michael Buble’s Cry Me A River before being put with four other solo hopefuls at the boot camp stage of the competition – the group which later became One Direction.
“I had to tell you when you were 14 that this wasn’t your time. And we both made a promise that we would meet again. A lot of people would have given up. You didn’t.
“You came back and within months the whole world knew Liam. And you never forgot the fans.
“I watched you spending so much time with people who had wanted to meet you. You really cared.”
Cowell said that Payne had visited him last year “not for a meeting, just to sit and talk” and they “reminisced about all of the fun times we had together”.
“After you left, I was reminded that you were still the sweet, kind boy I had met all of those years ago,” he added.
