Singer Zayn postpones US tour after the death of his former bandmate Liam Payne

By Nick Perry, The Associated Press on October 19, 2024.

English singer Zayn Malik on Saturday postponed a planned tour to the U.S. following the death of his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne.

Zayn, as the singer often goes by, wrote on X that he’d made the decision “Given the heartbreaking loss experienced this week.”

He said the dates for the U.S. leg of his “Stairway to the Sky” tour would be rescheduled for January and he’d post the new dates within the coming days.

Zayn had gigs scheduled next week in San Francisco and Las Vegas, and the following week in Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and New York.

“Your tickets will remain valid for the new dates,” Zayn wrote. “Love you all and thank you for your understanding.”

Payne, 31, was found dead Wednesday after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires. His death prompted an outpouring of shock and sadness from friends, collaborators and fellow musicians.

Payne’s sister Ruth Gibbins was the latest to share her thoughts in an Instagram tribute.

“I don’t believe this is happening. Many times have I poured my heart out publicly with pride about Liam but never much about life as his sister,” she wrote.

She said her brother was “born with music in his veins” and that what she loved most about him was his ability to make her laugh.

“I don’t feel this world was good enough or kind enough to you,” she wrote.

One Direction was the internet’s first boy band with a level of fame comparable to Beatlemania. Band members in their teens had to cope with their sudden fame and then navigate a breakup while trying to build solo careers.

The exact circumstances of Payne’s death remain unclear although Argentine authorities said there were suspicious elements and drugs were possibly involved. The results of toxicology tests are expected in the coming weeks. Payne had acknowledged struggling with alcoholism, saying in a YouTube video posted in July 2023 that he had been sober for six months after receiving treatment.

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