Popular TV personality and entrepreneur Simon Cowell has postponed today's auditions for Britain's Got Talent following the tragic death of Liam Payne. ApplauseStore, which handles ticketing for the show, announced on X (formerly Twitter) that the Blackpool auditions would be rescheduled due to "the tragic passing of Liam Payne." The statement shared by the spokesperson for production and distribution company Fremantle UK, read, "Due to the tragic passing of Liam Payne, we have decided to postpone the Britain's Got Talent auditions. Our thoughts are with Liam's friends, family and all who loved him." Ant and Dec, the show's hosts, were seen leaving a hotel in Lancashire near the planned filming location. Britain's Got Talent, produced by Cowell's Syco Entertainment and Thames, is currently in its 18th season and remains a key part of the UK entertainment landscape.
ICYDK, Simon Cowell created both Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor, where Liam Payne first gained fame as a contestant. He later joined One Direction, the pop group formed by Simon Cowell in Season 7, which became one of the most successful acts to emerge from the show. Alongside Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik, Liam Payne contributed to five studio albums released between 2011 and 2015, all of which achieved platinum status in the US and reached the top spots in both the US and UK. Their major hits include What Makes You Beautiful, Little Things, and One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks).
Liam Payne died after falling three floors from a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was 31. Alberto Crescenti, head of the state emergency medical system, said that he fell into a courtyard at Casa Sur Hotel. The prosecutor's office in Argentina confirmed that Liam Payne died from "multiple traumas", including "internal and external bleeding", as well as a cranial injury sustained in the fall. According to La Nación, hotel staff had previously contacted the police regarding an "aggressive man who may have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol."