Zayn Malik has postponed the US leg of his first-ever solo tour following the untimely death of his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne.
Payne died suddenly on Wednesday at the age of 31 after falling from the third floor of his hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, causing an outpouring of grief and shock around the world.
Zayn, who was due to kick off the tour in San Francisco on October 23, told fans tonight: ‘Given the heartbreaking loss I have experienced this week, I have made the decision to cancel the US leg of the STAIRWAY TO THE SKY Tour set. .
‘The dates will be moved to January and I will post them in the coming days once everything is known. Your tickets remain valid for the new dates. I love you all and thank you for your understanding.”
Zayn, who rose to fame as a young teenager with bandmates Payne, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles, would perform in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Washington, DC and New York.
Zayn Malik has canceled the US leg of his upcoming tour following the untimely death of his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne
Zayn Malik was set to embark on his first solo tour on Wednesday night, starting in San Francisco. It’s been postponed
Fans outside the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, where Liam Payne died earlier this week
There is no update on the UK tour, which kicks off in Edinburgh on November 20. Zayn was also due to perform in Leeds, Manchester, London, Wolverhampton and Newcastle.
A spokesperson for the singer told the PA news agency that his UK dates are ‘unchanged’.
In recent days, hundreds of fans had responded to Zayn’s social media posts, saying they would fully support him in postponing the tour as he grapples with the sudden grief.
Zayn, 31, recently performed at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London, but this would be the first time he has gone on a major tour since leaving One Direction.
Following Payne’s sudden death, Zayn admitted he had a ‘talk out loud’ with his former bandmate – as he opened up about their difficult relationship in a tribute.
In an honest message, he acknowledged their ups and downs and said the pair had ‘butted heads’, but thanked Payne for ‘helping him through his darkest times’ and poignantly said he had hoped for a chance to rebuild their bond in the future. .
Zayn, who quit One Direction in 2015 because he was ‘stressed’ and said he wanted to be a ‘normal 22-year-old’, had an on-and-off relationship with Liam – who called his bandmate a ‘d***’ when he appeared in 2022 on Logan Paul’s podcast.
In the same interview, he also spoke about a physical altercation where a band member threw him against a wall, and recently Liam’s ex-fiancée Maya Henry claimed it was Zayn.
Zayn wrote on Instagram on Thursday evening: “Liam, I find myself talking out loud to you, hoping you can hear me. I can’t help but think selfishly that we could still have so many conversations in our lives.
‘I could never thank you for your support during the most difficult times of my life.
“When I was missing home as a 17-year-old child, you were always there with a positive attitude and a reassuring smile, letting me know that you were my friend and that I was loved.
Zayn famously left the band in 2015, and in 2016 he said he was ‘closest to Liam’ when asked what his relationship was like with his former bandmates (pictured in 2014)
Earlier this week, Zayn shared a refreshingly honest tribute to his bandmate Liam Payne, admitting they “butted heads” but praising him for “helping him through his darkest times” in his tribute.
He wrote: “Even though we have butted heads a few times over this, I have always secretly respected you for it.”
Payne tragically died on Wednesday evening at the age of 31, after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
‘Even though you were younger than me, you were always wiser than me. You were stubborn, opinionated and didn’t give a fuck about telling people they were wrong.
“Even though we’ve butted heads a few times over this, I’ve always secretly respected you for it.”
Zayn famously left the band in 2015, and in 2016 he said he was “closest to Liam” when asked about his relationship with his former bandmates.
“I’m probably still the closest to Liam. We talk on the phone. He congratulated me on my single. That was fun. I congratulated him on his Brit Award,” he said at the time.
Payne plunged from the third floor into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in Argentina’s capital at 5pm local time (9pm UK time) on Wednesday, before medics confirmed his death.
The singer died of multiple traumas and “internal and external bleeding,” according to a post-mortem examination report.
Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No. 16 said it is investigating the incident as an “inconclusive death” following the report.
