Liam Payne ✝

Liam James Payne (born 29 August 1993) is an English singer and songwriter. He rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction. Payne made his debut as a singer when he auditioned for the British television series The X Factor in 2008. After being eliminated as a solo performer, he auditioned again in 2010 and was put into a group with four other contestants to form One Direction. The group has since released five albums, embarked on four world tours, and won several awards. Payne has worked with other producers under the monikers "Big Payno" and "Payno" creating remixes for songs by his band and singer Cheryl.\n', ' In 2016, Payne signed a recording deal with Republic Records in North America. In May 2017, Payne released "Strip That Down" as the lead single from his upcoming debut album. It peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart and number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100, being certified platinum in both countries.\n', ' Payne was born in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. He is the son of Karen, a nursery nurse, and Geoff Payne, a fitter. He has two older sisters, Nicola and Ruth. Payne was born three weeks early, getting ill frequently. Until the age of four, Payne had regular tests done in hospital as doctors noticed one of his kidneys was scarred and dysfunctional. To help cope with the pain, he had 32 injections in his arm in the morning and evening as a child. As a student, Payne was heavily involved in sports, particularly cross country running. Payne originally joined the Wolverhampton and Bilston Athletics Club to pursue his running career. After failing to make the English National Team for the 2012 Olympic Games, he was placed on the reserve list.\n', '