Liam Payne received a special mention Saturday night when this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees were named in Cleveland, Ohio.
The former One Direction star fell to his death from a third-floor balcony in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires on Wednesday at the age of 31.
While an investigation into the events leading up to the incident is ongoing, the British singer was included in the memorials at the annual event at Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
An image of Payne, taken during his early days with One Direction, was projected into the venue, prompting wild cheers from those in attendance.
The singer died instantly after plunging 45 feet from the balcony of his third-floor hotel room onto the patio below at 5:04 p.m. on Wednesday.
Liam Payne received a special mention Saturday evening as this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees were named in Cleveland, Ohio
The former One Direction star fell to his death from a third-floor balcony in Buenos Aires on Wednesday at the age of 31
Police found drugs in his room, including ‘cristal’, a powerful hallucinogen that causes blackouts and psychotic episodes.
A source told MailOnline: ‘Where did Liam get the drugs when he had no money?’
The source also revealed:
- Liam was ‘re-editing’ his favorite One Direction song ‘Fireproof’ on his computer just hours before his death.
- He was in Argentina to renew his US visa and had undergone medical and psychological tests just days earlier that showed he was ‘completely clean’.
- He was in “good spirits” and planned to fly home to girlfriend Kate Cassidy in Miami on Friday.
- His last meal was his favorite chocolate chip cookies.
Multiple police sources have said investigators believe someone at the hotel supplied him with drugs.
There are unconfirmed reports that the hotel has conducted an internal investigation and fired at least one employee.
Payne arrived in Argentina on September 30 with his girlfriend Kate and close friend Roger Nores.
The source said: ‘Liam’s US visa expired and he had to leave America to renew it, so he decided to go to Buenos Aires to see Niall Horan perform and get his new visa.’
But when Payne went to the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires last week, he discovered that officials had Googled him and discovered that he had spent multiple stints in rehab for drugs and alcohol.
The One Direction star fell from a third floor balcony of the CasaSur hotel (seen in a drone image)
In the days since Payne died, vigils have been held around the world. One was pictured in Stockholm, Sweden on Saturday
A source close to the late singer has said that he did not commit suicide and could have been saved
Payne was initially in Argentina with girlfriend Kate Cassidy (right) before heading to the US in the days before he died
“They ordered him to do medical tests, see a doctor, get blood tests and x-rays and see a psychiatrist, and that all happened in the first week. Liam thought the trip would only last a few days, but all the testing got him stuck there.”
After spending last weekend at a polo farm outside Buenos Aires, girlfriend Kate Cassidy flew back to Miami on Monday to care for the couple’s dog while Liam checked into the CasaSur hotel.
‘He had no money and his credit cards didn’t work, so he spent all his time in the room.
“On Tuesday he asked for a McDonald’s. He was happy and cheerful.
‘The test results all came back completely clear on Tuesday and he had an appointment at the embassy to have his passport stamped with the visa on Thursday and then he would leave Argentina immediately.’
The source said a family friend visited him around 10 a.m. that morning to deliver his favorite “American-style” chocolate chip cookies to a bakery three blocks from the hotel.
‘He seemed a little tipsy, like he’d been drinking, but wasn’t in bad shape. He was happy.
Kicking off the event on Saturday, Dua Lipa took the stage and performed in a chic leather halter dress with dramatic thigh-high slits that exposed her hips and accentuated her legs.
Cher (photo) was also one of the nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year
“He replicated Fireproof on his computer. He loved recreating instrumentals and that was his favorite One Direction song.
“He was repeating the beat. He was in a good place, making plans for the future and looking forward to going home to Miami to his girlfriend and his dog.”
Cher, Mary J. Blige and Ozzy Osbourne were among this year’s inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an elite group formally introduced into the music pantheon on Saturday during a star-studded concert gala.
Kool & the Gang, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, A Tribe Called Quest and Peter Frampton round out the 2024 class of honorees, artists who will be honored at the ceremony in Cleveland, Ohio, home of the prestigious venue.
Big Mama Thornton, Alexis Korner and John Mayall received special awards for ‘musical influence’, while Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Dionne Warwick and Norman Whitfield received awards for ‘musical excellence’.
Suzanne de Passe, a pioneer of female music executives who was big in Motown, won the evening award for non-performing industry professionals.
Payne rose to fame with the band One Direction. He is pictured with band members (left-right) Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik
Dua Lipa kicked off the night with a performance of Believe, with Cher joining the pop star on stage to close out her 1998 smash hit, which was credited as the first song to use auto-tune technology as an instrument.
“I changed the sound of music forever,” she said in her acceptance speech, less than a year after criticizing the venue for not yet adding her to the ballot.
“It was easier to divorce two men than it was to get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” she joked Saturday night.
Performers included Kelly Clarkson, Sammy Hagar, Slash and Demi Lovato, who all appeared for Foreigner.
A group of artists including Queen Latifah, De La Soul and Busta Rhymes also performed with the remaining members of the eclectic, groundbreaking hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest – Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White.
