Pop
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With the first quarter of the 21st century coming to a close, Billboard is spending the next few months counting down our staff picks for the 25 greatest pop stars of the last 25 years. You can see the stars who have made our list so far here, and now we remember the century in Ariana Grande — whose standard-defying approach to pop music saw her withstand expectations and stigma to become one of the most prolific examples of what pop sovereignty can look like in the streaming era.
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It’s easy to view Ariana Grande’s rise to the highest echelons of pop stardom as a classic, uncomplicated success story within the music business. The child-actor-turned-pop-sensation route is well-trodden, after all, and at first glance, the 31-year-old singer-songwriter appears to be yet another benefactor of that industry pipeline.
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Yet once you dig further into her career, it becomes clear that her success was far from guaranteed. Over the course of the last decade-and-change, Grande created lasting hits amidst a mercurial musical landscape, endured unimaginable hardships and deftly navigated an industry that seemed to grow more volatile by the minute. Her standing today as a veritable icon is less a reflection of the efficacy of established systems that promoted her rise, and more a testament to her enduring, generational talent.
The star’s achievement came in part thanks to her drive for greatness from an early age. Born and raised in Boca Raton, Fla., Grande began her work towards a music career earlier than most — at age eight, she was already publicly performing on cruise ships, sporting events and her own personal YouTube channel, catching the attention of her family, her peers and even icons like Gloria Estefan. By the time she turned 13, the aspiring star had already booked her first professional gig as the bubbly, popular cheerleader Charlotte in the 2008 Broadway production of Jason Robert Brown’s musical 13.
Ariana Grande
Getty Images/Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester
Her foothold in the entertainment industry firmly established, Grande soon landed her breakthrough role as the loveable ditz Cat Valentine on Nickelodeon’s Victorious. With a sing-song voice proclaiming increasingly zany one-liners over the course of the show’s run, the character quickly rose among the ranks of the children’s network’s beloved characters — thanks, especially, to the impressive vocal chops Grande got to occasionally flaunt throughout the three season run. Valentine became so popular among the network’s fans that she earned her own spinoff series with iCarly’s Sam Puckett (Jennette McCurdy) on 2013’s Sam & Cat.
The standout support for her character provided a natural on-ramp to Grande’s own musical aspirations — who better than the perky-best-friend-type to deliver a string of uncomplicated pop songs? For her 2011 debut single “Put Your Hearts Up,” Grande and her team at Republic Records aimed to capitalize on that progression with a bubblegum anthem in the style of the day’s superstars like Katy Perry and Justin Bieber. But “Hearts” came and went, missing the Billboard charts and falling to bigger, bolder turbo-pop anthems of the era. Grande herself would later acknowledge that “Hearts Up” made more sense coming from her character than it did from her, making the entire experience feel “inauthentic and fake.”
So when it came time for her to reintroduce herself, Grande stepped away from the saccharine schtick of her Nickelodeon persona and leaned into her love of R&B. 2013’s “The Way,” featuring rising alt-hip-hop star Mac Miller, provided Grande with a streamlined, ebullient palette cleanser, placing the singer’s stratospheric four-octave range front and center. Vague, kid-friendly proclamations about giving a little love to change the world were exchanged for lyrics depicting a more mature, albeit still unspecific, approach to romance. Employing curated ‘90s sounds — including a lift of the central piano riff from Big Pun’s 1998 hit “Still Not a Player” — Grande happily aged herself up, gleefully drawing early comparisons between her airy, whistle-toned voice and The Voice, Mariah Carey. This, she told her eager fans, was the Ariana Grande she wanted to be.
Her audience certainly took that message to heart, earning the star her first of many top 10 debuts on the Hot 100. With “The Way,” Grande was ushered forth as a soon-to-be-star. Her subsequent debut album Yours Truly confirmed that “The Way” was the rule, not the exception — for every track on the record that didn’t quite work (like the doop-wop-meets-EDM strangeness of “Daydreamin’”), there was another that shined (the surefire R&B-pop killer “Piano” still stands out to this day), signaling the singer-songwriter’s vast potential in the pop space. With a No. 1 debut on Billboard 200, Yours Truly heralded the advent of Grande’s oncoming dominance.
Where 2013 saw Ariana arrive, the summer of 2014 saw her quickly start to take over. Her face adorned the covers of Billboard, Cosmopolitan and Teen Vogue, wherein she earnestly began to separate herself from her child star roots — never quite falling into the stereotypical “good girl gone bad” persona, but instead offering new context to buffer between the public’s introduction to her through Cat Valentine and the pop star she aimed to be. As her pop persona developed, so did her image; gone were the flame-red locks that defined her Nickelodeon career, replaced now by her natural brunette hair tied up in a stratospheric ponytail.
All the while, her music became utterly inescapable: “Problem,” her funk-fueled dance-pop diatribe featuring rapper-of-the-moment Iggy Azalea, dominated the airwaves in the early summer (bolstered in part by a whisper hook from her then-beau Big Sean); “Break Free,” her Zedd-produced EDM-pop anthem, gained steam shortly thereafter; and “Bang Bang,” her girlboss team-up with Jessie J and Nicki Minaj, exploded into the zeitgeist.
As each of her three singles peaked within the Hot 100’s top three slots at the end of August, Grande became the second woman in the history of the chart (alongside Adele) to maintain three tracks simultaneously in the top 10 as a lead artist. By the time Grande’s powerhouse sophomore LP My Everything arrived — along with its fourth-straight top-10 hit “Love Me Harder” featuring a then-lesser-known alt-R&B act called The Weeknd — the singer had already been ordained as the Next Big Thing in pop music, just one year after her debut album dropped.
With that attention came a predictable wave of controversy. Fans accused Grande of acting like a “diva” to her fans, with some drawing comparisons to her pop idol Mariah Carey. Rumors swirled of a feud with her Sam & Cat co-star Jennette McCurdy. A September 2014 headline in The Washington Post warned that the pop star was “on the brink of a major image problem,” stating that, as undeniable as Grande’s talent was, she was still a “very, very new name” in an industry with “a strange fascination with seeing the ‘fall’ of a newcomer as much as the ‘rise.’”
Ariana Grande
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But nothing could have prepared us for one of the most deeply bizarre celebrity scandals of the 2010s — Donutgate. A leaked security video caught Grande licking a donut on display at a bakery in Lake Elsinore, Ca., while proclaiming that she “hates America” and kissing her backup dancer Ricky Alvarez. The public reaction came swiftly, with fans, pundits and industry professionals alike asking, what the hell is a rising star doing tonguing a donut she didn’t buy? A drop from Wikileaks would later reveal that even the Obama White House kept their distance, rejecting a proposal for Ariana to perform. The star made multiple apologies for the incident, assuring the public that her actions were those of a dumb kid, promising that “I’m going to learn from my mistakes.”
Still, it wasn’t until 2016’s flirtatious and sonically fluctuating Dangerous Woman that Grande faced diminishing returns. Its intended lead single “Focus” earned too little attention on the charts, and too much attention as a reskin of 2014’s “Problem,” that the label decided to cut it wholecloth from the album. The set became her first not to clinch the top spot on the Billboard 200, failing to dethrone Drake’s Views for its reign atop the chart. Critics, meanwhile, were divided over the album’s sound. Some praised the singer for taking a bolder, more daring approach to her established pop-n-b aesthetic, singling out the bombastic retro-soul title track “Dangerous Woman” and provocative reggae-pop Nicki Minaj duet “Side to Side.” Others heard the sound of a would-be superstar still struggling to figure out her sound three albums later.
A slight career dip certainly didn’t deter Grande from cementing her position as the pop star of the day. In March 2016, she served double duty as host and musical guest on SNL, poking fun at Donutgate; a few months later, she dazzled audiences with her spot-on impersonations of Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears on The Tonight Show; in September, she showcased her blissful romance with now-boyfriend Miller on his “My Favorite Part;” she even closed out the year on NBC’s telecast of Hairspray Live, playing the role of Penny Singleton alongside stage and screen stars like Jennifer Hudson, Harvey Fierstein and Martin Short. As she embarked on her second arena tour in 2017 — which would go on to gross $71 million, according to Billboard Boxscore — Grande appeared to be an unstoppable force.
Tragedy, as it turned out, is an immovable object. On May 22, 2017, minutes after Grande’s live performance concluded at the UK’s Manchester Arena, a terrorist detonated a suicide bomb in the arena’s foyer. 22 people were killed in the attack — twelve of whom were under the age of 16 — marking the deadliest act of terrorism on British soil since the 7/7 bombings of 2005. A public inquiry revealed in 2022 that more than 800 people were injured as a result of the attack. Grande escaped the attack physically unharmed, but emotionally “broken,” as she wrote in a tweet the day following the attack.
In the years to come, Grande would describe her experience with post-traumatic stress disorder following the attack, and the immense anxiety she suffered as a result. “I know those families and my fans, and everyone there experienced a tremendous amount of it as well … I shouldn’t even be talking about my own experience,” she told British Vogue. “I don’t think I’ll ever know how to talk about it and not cry.”
After successfully hosting her One Love Manchester benefit show — featuring artists including Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus to help raise over $13 million for the attack’s victims — Grande finished out the remainder of her postponed tour and retreated from the public eye. Where her Twitter and Instagram accounts were once littered with personal messages recounting her day-to-day experiences with fame, now there was a deafening silence.
Perhaps that’s why so many view “No Tears Left To Cry” as the turning point in Grande’s already impressive career. Over the course of three and a half minutes, the singer reset the narrative, acknowledging the abject horror she and her fans had been through while defiantly promising to move forward with light and optimism. House and disco stylings delivered the burst of joy she so earnestly sought on the track, bringing Grande’s vision for herself and her fans firmly into the forefront of the cultural consciousness. Yet what made “Tears” so remarkable was Ariana’s deft handling of tone: The song never comes across as a purely enthusiastic rallying cry, nor does it fit the mold of mournful reflections on loss — instead, Grande pulled off its own galvanizing message of picking it up and moving on.
Ariana Grande
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Ariana Grande
With the album that followed, 2018’s Sweetener, Grande found something deeper than any of her past works. Albums like My Everything and Dangerous Woman took a kitchen-sink approach to finding what sounds produced hits, with Grande trying on new pop diva personas to best fit each package. Sweetener, by contrast, provided no artifice: It was just Ariana, the confessional, sometimes goofy, always-earnest singer-songwriter embracing the most vulnerable parts of herself. Though the album never quite achieved the level of chart domination exhibited during My Everything’s undeniable 2014 run, it exhibited an evolution, both artistic and personal, that once eluded Grande.
The album’s commercial success was certainly helped by the fact that Ariana had become the hottest topic in the months leading up to and following its release, thanks in no small part to her whirlwind romance with SNL star Pete Davidson. Tabloids, paparazzi, social media and the public at large were obsessed with the odd couple. When they were in public together, photos appeared online in seconds; when Ariana shared a one-minute interlude on Sweetener named after the comedian, articles appeared dissecting its romantic lyrics; and when the pop superstar bragged about her sudden fiancé’s “BDE,” fans turned it into a meme.
But a question arose from Sweetener’s shift — could Ariana Grande, Serious Artist coexist with Ariana Grande, Cultural Phenomenon? Within four months of the album’s release, a resounding answer crash-landed in the form of an out-of-nowhere, cycle-breaking single that smashed through Ariana’s own release pattern and her audience’s presuppositions. “Thank U, Next,” Grande’s cheeky response to the media storm around her breakup with Davidson and the death of her ex-boyfriend and collaborator Mac Miller, deftly toed the line between her blockbuster era and her newfound emotional honesty. Memes, think pieces, reviews and shot-by-shot analyses of its Mean Girls-inspired video poured out in the weeks to come, only further bolstered by the song’s No. 1 debut on the Hot 100 — somehow the first of the pop star’s career.
From that point forward, Grande became the invincible pop juggernaut that had been promised since her debut. The track’s follow-up — the Sound of Music-interpolating hip-hop jam “7 Rings” — immediately earned Grande her second No. 1; the release of her lauded fifth studio album Thank U, Next saw Ariana beat Cardi B’s record for the most simultaneous top 40 hits by a female artist. She even became the first solo artist in the history of the Hot 100 to simultaneously occupy the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 spots, and then the only act in 55 years to do so since The Beatles. Perhaps the most telling records that Grande managed to smash in 2019 came from Spotify: Upon its release, Thank U, Next shattered streaming giant Ed Sheeran’s record for the most weekly streams of any pop album, while within a year, Grande became the most streamed female artist on Spotify, surpassing pop superhero Rihanna.
Ariana Grande
Nicholas Hunt/FilmMagic
Where Adele had revitalized the art of album sales in 2010, Grande became proof of concept at how the streaming era could generate gargantuan pop idols in the modern music business. Curating the social media experience for her army of Arianators over the course of her career paid dividends in Grande’s modern eras, as her loyal fan base rallied to support their fave at all costs, even as they occasionally crossed the line with comments about her image and personal life. She learned from the prolificacy of her hip-hop contemporaries like Drake that more was more when it came to content creation. Putting those two skills together, Grande became the artist to beat in the streaming game.
A global pandemic couldn’t even seem to stop Grande’s cultural takeover. A pair of early-lockdown collaborations — the retro-pop Justin Bieber duet “Stuck With U” and the French house Lady Gaga banger “Rain on Me” — earned Grande another pair of Hot 100-toppers. A year later, her sultry turn on renewed superstar The Weeknd’s “Save Your Tears” turned the slow-burning hit into an immediate chart-topper, sending the song to No. 1 on the Hot 100 within two weeks of its release. Even when her sixth LP Positions fell short of critics’ newly lofty expectations, she still took both the album and its title track to the summit of the Billboard 200 and Hot 100, respectively.
Today, even if her commercial power has waned from its 2019-2020 zenith, Grande has found a level of consistency amongst her cultural ubiquity. Eternal Sunshine, the singer’s sparkling meta-narrative on the pitfalls of public image, spawned yet another pair of No. 1 hits for the singer-songwriter, as well as earning a debut atop the Billboard 200. And as she gears up for her lifelong dream of playing Glinda in the long-awaited film adaptation of Wicked, it seems that Grande has come full circle, all the way back around to her theater roots.
Trace that ring from start to finish, and you’ll witness something fascinating; a young woman who managed not only to transform her pain into prosperity, but created a mold-breaking model for success. The career framework Grande built has only benefitted recent pop ingénues like Sabrina Carpenter and Tate McRae, who’ve capitalized on her streaming-focused strategies and sweetly melodic (and slyly winking) pop&B sound to rocket-launch their own music. Ariana Grande consciously changed how pop music is perceived and enjoyed by the masses, in a way a new generation of fans and artists will forever be so f–king grateful for.
Read more about the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century here — and be sure to check back Thursday as we reveal our No. 9 artist!
THE LIST SO FAR:
Honorable Mentions
25. Katy Perry24. Ed Sheeran23. Bad Bunny22. One Direction21. Lil Wayne20. Bruno Mars19. BTS18. The Weeknd17. Shakira16. Jay-Z15. Miley Cyrus14. Justin Timberlake13. Nicki Minaj12. Eminem11. Usher10. Adele
Liam Payne‘s preliminary autopsy report has been shared by the prosecutor’s office in Argentina, revealing the 31-year-old singer died from internal and external traumas upon falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires Wednesday (Oct. 16). According to the Spanish-language press release from the country’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office that […]
Mitzi Gaynor, a beloved star of the 1950s whose effervescent personality, radiant personality and triple-threat skills as an actress, singer and dancer earned her a Golden Globe nomination for her role as Ensign Nellie Forbush in the 1958 film adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific had died at 93.
The star’s managers announced her death in an Instagram post, noting that she “passed away peacefully” on Thursday morning (Oct. 17) of natural causes. “For eight decades she entertained audiences in films, on television and on the stage,” read the announcement. “She truly enjoyed every moment of her professional career and the great privilege of being an entertainer.”
Gaynor, born Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber in Chicago on Sept. 4, 1931, was best known for her run of starring roles in a series of 1950s movie musicals, including 1954’s There’s No Business Like Show Business, 1956’s Anything Goes and 1957’s Les Girls. Born to a violinist father and dancer mother, Gaynor got an early start on her career when her family moved from Detroit to Los Angeles when she was 11-years-old, leading to her landing a spot as a singer/dancer in the Los Angeles Civil Light Opera two years later.
By 17, she signed a contract with Twentieth Century-Fox, making her film debut in 1950’s My Blue Heaven, where she starred alongside Betty Grable. By the next year she landed her first starring role in the musical western Golden Girl, where she played a character based on early 20th century actress Lotta Crabtree.
Her first big screen success came in 1952 with the musical Bloodhounds of Broadway — based on a Damon Runyon story — which kicked off nearly a decade of starring roles that showcased her versatility and winning, shining personality, which manifested in film with a mix of innocence and sex appeal. She shared the screen with such established stars of the day as Ethel Merman, Johnnie Ray and Marilyn Monroe and sang songs penned by Irving Berlin in There’s No Business Like Show Business, as well as Bing Crosby and Donald O’Connor in the 1956 adaptation of Cole Porter’s stage musical Anything Goes. Other highlights included 1957’s The Joker Is Wild, with Frank Sinatra and Charles Vidor, and that year’s Les Girls, which also featured music by Porter and co-starred Gene Kelly.
Her winning streak continued with top billing in the WWII romantic musical South Pacific, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for best motion picture actress – comedy/musical for her exuberant performances of “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair” and “Some Enchanted Evening.” She appeared in a handful of other movies over the next few years, including 1963’s For Love or Money with Kirk Douglas, Gig Young and Julie Newmar, before pivoting to a successful run as the hots of a series of TV specials.
“I quit films because they quit me,” she told the TV Academy Foundation in a 2012 in explaining why she moved from the big screen to the little one. “Marilyn Monroe was now the new Alice Faye/Betty Grable, she was doing the musicals at Fox. I wasn’t going to do My Fair Lady, and I wasn’t going to [sing] ‘The Hills Are Alive With the Sound of Screaming’ — there was nothing for me to do.”
She famously performed between the two sets by the Beatles on a Feb. 16, 1964 episode of the Ed Sullivan Show, singing a 13-minute medley of “Too Darn Hot” along with “The More I See You,” “Birth of the Blues” and “When the Saints Go Marching In.” The episode from the Deauville Hotel in Miami Beach aired a week after Sullivan legendarily introduced the Fab Four to American audiences in one of the most-watched TV moments of all time.
Before he teamed up with Cher, Gaynor was glittery celebrity gown designer Bob Makie’s first A-list client, modeling his one-of-a-kind creations during her stint as a headliner in Las Vegas in the 1960s.
That run paved the way for Gaynor’s first TV special, Mitzi, which aired on NBC in Oct. 1968 and was followed by a second one on the network the next year, as well as half a dozen similar song-and-dance specials on CBS from 1973-1978; her nine specials were nominated for a total of 16 Emmy Awards, though she didn’t take one home until 2008 thanks to her PBS special Mitzi Gaynor: Razzle Dazzle! The Special Years.
A frequent performer on the Academy Awards broadcasts — wowing the crowd in 1954 with her take on “The Moon Is Blue” and again in 1959 with her signature “There’s No Business Like Show Business” — Gaynor also recorded two albums for Verve Records, 1959’s Mitzi and Mitzi Gaynor Sings the Lyrics of Ira Gerswhin.
“We take great comfort in the fact that her creative legacy will endure through her many magical performances capture on film and video, through her recordings and especially through the love and support audiences around the world have shared so generously with her throughout her life and career,” wrote managers Rene Reyes and Shane Rosamonda in their tribute.
See the statement announcing Gaynor’s death and some of her career highlights below.
On Wednesday night (Oct. 16), Billie Eilish beamed with pride as tens of thousands of birds of a feather stuck together and relished in the cinematic world of her Hit Me Hard and Soft LP. The nine-time Grammy winner played her first of three sold-out shows at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, the most times she’s ever graced the iconic venue on a headlining tour.
Anchored by the still-permeating tracks of Hard and Soft, Eilish’s latest trek displays her remarkable growth as a musician, vocalist, and performer, as well as her almost singular ability to cultivate intimacy in spaces that are diametrically opposed to that feeling. Dressed in her now-trademark ensemble of an oversized t-shirt, baggy shorts, sneakers, and a Yankees snapback, Eilish sprinted around the stage, spent some time with fans on the floor, and treated The Garden two hours to some of the best and most adventurous pop music of the last half-decade.
The morning of the show, Eilish launched a SoHo pop-up in collaboration with American Express featuring exclusive merchandise and interactive stations inspired by the world of Hard and Soft. Before she took the stage, pop-rock sibling duo Nat & Alex Wolff — who some fans fondly remember as The Naked Brothers Band from Nickelodeon — warmed up the arena, delivering spirited renditions of tracks like 2020’s “Glue” and “Soft Kissing Hour,” an unreleased Eilish-produced cut. At one point, Alex Wolff ran an entire lap on the floor around the stage before kicking off the final song in the duo’s set — a particularly impressive feat considering what a busy weekend the multihyphenate has ahead of him. The Line, his new film in which he stars alongside Halle Bailey, Denise Richards and the late Angus Cloud, opens on Friday (Oct. 18).
Wolff’s affinity for a quick lap was just a teaser for Eilish, who frequently sprinted around the stage during her livelier songs. With the stage in the center of the arena and a setup that prioritized her band and incredibly intricate lighting design over backup dancers and elaborate set pieces, Eilish offered up a show that played on the minimalist bent of her music. The sparseness of the stage created scenes that were as enthralling and they were harrowing, particularly during ballads like “When the Party’s Over,” “Lovely” and “What Was I Made For?” Of course, eye-popping pyro and dizzying lasers played up the spunky, electronic undertones of hits like “Bad Guy,” “Therefore I Am” and “Guess.”
Ultimately a gorgeous presentation of her latest Billboard chart-topping album, Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour was also a commendable victory lap for a pop star who only seems to know how to level up. Here were the eight best moments from Wednesday night’s show.
Billie Builds “When the Party’s Over” From Scratch
Prior to Liam Payne‘s death on Wednesday (Oct. 16), a hotel manager in Buenos Aires, Argentina called 911 to report a guest who was “overwhelmed with drugs and alcohol,” adding, “he’s destroying the entire room and, well, we need you to send someone, please.”
According to the Associated Press, the caller’s voice grew more anxious as the call continued, with the hotel manager noting that the room had a balcony. Former One Direction and solo star Payne, 31, was found dead on Wednesday after officials said he sustained “extremely serious injuries” in a fall from the third-floor balcony of his room — approximately 42-45 feet from the ground — at the Casa Sur Hotel in the Palermo neighborhood of the nation’s capital city.
While the initial reports stated that Payne fell, the AP reported that Buenos Aires Security Ministry spokesperson Pablo Policicchio told the news service in a statement that Payne “had jumped from the balcony of his room.”
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Police were dispatched the to scene following the emergency call around 5 p.m. local time on Wednesday according to Policicchio, after being told by hotel staff that there was an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.” Officials are reportedly still investigating the circumstances of Payne’s death, with an autopsy under way.
In the days since, fans have gathered in a vigil outside the hotel for the beloved boy band star, lighting candles and singing 1D’s “Night Changes” and “Story of My Life,” while his music industry peers and family have shared their grief over the shocking loss.
Payne’s rise to stardom began in 2010 at age 17 when he was paired with the other members of what would become One Direction by Simon Cowell after the quintet’s singers all auditioned for the British X-Factor as solo acts. Along with Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik, Payne was thrust into instant global adoration in 2012 after the late 2011 release of the band’s debut single, “What Makes You Beautiful,” which went to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 in the UK.
The song memorably opens with one of Payne’s most beloved, iconic vocals, in which he sings, “You’re insecure, don’t know what for/ You’re turning heads when you walk through the door/ Don’t need makeup to cover up/ Bein’ the way that you are is enough.” During the band’s subsequent six-year run they scored four No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and six top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits.
After the group hit pause, Payne — who never headlined his own tour — released his lone solo album, 2019’s LP1, as well a string of singles, including the 2017 Billboard Hot 100 No. 10 Hit “Strip That Down” (featuring Quavo), “Get Low” (feat. Zedd, No. 23, 2017), “Bedroom Floor” (No. 35, 2017), “For You (Fifty Shades Freed)” (feat. Rita Ora, No. 37, 2018) and “Familiar” (feat. J Balvin, No. 25, 2018). He also released the 2018 EP First Time, as well as singles with Jonas Blue and Lennon Stella (“Polaroid,” 2018), A Boogie Wit da Hoodie (“Stack It Up,” 2019), Cheat Codes (“Live Forever,” 2019) and Dixie D’Amelio (“Naughty List,” 2020).
His final single, “Teardrops,” co-written by former *NSYNC member JC Chasez, was released in March.
After the group went on indefinite hiatus in 2016, the singer was open about how the dizzying rush of fame overwhelmed him, leading to a yearslong substance use struggle. In July 2023, he posted an eight-minute video in which he revealed that he was almost six months sober following a 100-day stay in a Louisiana rehab facility.
“I just kind of feel like I’ve got more of a grip on life and everything that was getting away from me, I just feel like I’ve got more of a handle on it,” Payne said at the time. “I just needed to take a little bit of time out for myself actually because I kind of became somebody who I didn’t really recognize anymore. And I’m sure you guys didn’t either. I was in bad shape up until that point and I was really happy to kind of put a stopper to life and work.”
In a 2019 interview, Payne admitted that he had trouble adjusting to 1D’s Beatles-like level of fan adoration at the height of the group’s success, frequently leaning on alcohol to cope with the stress. “It’s almost like putting the Disney costume on before you step up on stage and underneath the Disney costume I was pissed quite a lot of the time because there was no other way to get your head around what was going on,” he said. “I mean, it was fun. We had an absolute blast, but there were certain parts of it where it just got a little bit toxic.”
Then, in a Diary of a CEO podcast appearance in 2021, Payne talked about struggling with depression and substance use disorder during the chaotic 1D years. “I was worried how far my rock bottom was going to be. Where’s rock bottom for me?” the singer told host Stephen Bartlett. “And you would never have seen it. I’m very good at hiding it. No one would ever have seen it.”
He described how the pressure and intense fan attention during the height of the group’s fame transformed him into an “angry person” who turned to prescription pills and alcohol to numb his anxiety and fear. When host Bartlett asked if that period included “suicidal ideation,” Payne said it did, explaining, “There is some stuff that I have definitely never, never spoken about. It was really, really, really severe. It was a problem. And it was only until I saw myself after that I was like, ‘Right, I need to fix myself.’”
Payne said the substance use continued for “many years” and then returned during England’s COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, when he took a break from recording solo songs for a few months due to exhaustion, only to find himself drinking more and more, and earlier and earlier in the day. “What I’ve found more than anything with the alcohol is boundaries. If you’re on Zoom you can probably get away with being a bit tipsy, when you’re not supposed to be,” he said at the time.
After catching a glimpse of one of his performances on TV looking bloated and unwell, he said he began working out, attending meetings and going to therapy.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with mental health or substance abuse disorders, reach out to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration‘s national helpline 24/7 at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) for confidential treatment referrals and information. For those who are experiencing suicidal thoughts and/or distress, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 by texting 988.
ROSÉ is launching her solo era, and she’s bringing one of pop music’s biggest names along for the ride. On Thursday (Oct. 17), the BLACKPINK star and Bruno Mars announced that they’re teaming up on a new single titled “Apt.” — and it’s coming even sooner than you think. Breaking the news to fans via […]
Liam Payne‘s family has spoken out after the former One Direction member’s death on Wednesday (Oct. 16. “We are heartbroken. Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul,” the statement shared with the BBC on Thursday (Oct. 17) said. “We are supporting each other the […]
BTS singer J-Hope became the second member of BTS to be discharged from mandatory South Korean military service on Thursday (Oct. 17) after serving 18 months on duty. According to Reuters, Hope, 30, smiled and greeted his bandmate Jin and about 100 cheering fans and reporters when he walked out in uniform at a military base in Wonju, Gangwon province.
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Jin, who finished his service in June, was seen in videos hugging his pal while holding a giant bouquet of flowers. “Thanks to the fans, I was able to finish it [military service] safely, with good health,” Hope (born Jung Ho-seok) said. “What I’ve felt for the past year-and-a-half is that a lot of soldiers are working hard, dedicating themselves, and doing so much to protect the country.”
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According to the Korea Times, the dancer/rapper also thanked the citizens of Wonju for their support, saying, “During my 18 months of military service, I performed duties as an instructor and marched a lot, so I saw many Wonju citizens. I want to thank the citizens who greeted and cheered for the soldiers. It was very touching…
BTS went on hiatus in 2022 to allow the members time to pursue solo projects and complete their military hitches, with plans for them to regroup in 2025 once all seven men are discharged from duty.
ARMY shared a number of videos of J-Hope and Jin’s sweet reunion, commenting on how excited the two men seemed to be, as well as laughing at Jin’s impromptu gag of bending down to hold a phalanx of press microphones during his bandmate’s brief statement on Thursday.
The exciting reunion came a day after Jin announced the details of his upcoming debut solo album, Happy, which is due out on Nov. 15. The six-song mini-album will feature the focus track, “Running Wild,” as well as the upcoming pre-release single, “I’ll Be There,” as well as “Another Level,” “Falling,” “Heart on the Window” (feat. WENDY) and “I will come to you.”
From serenading celebrities with surprise cover songs to releasing his own original music, Harry Daniels delivered his debut single “I’m Him” first thing Thursday (Oct. 17). The electro-pop song, which made its radio debut on New York’s Z100 first thing Thursday, was inspired by Daniels’ rise to fame as a viral star on TikTok, where […]
Liam Payne was remembered by former One Direction bandmate Harry Styles’ mother, Anne Twist, on Wednesday (Oct. 16) just hours after the shocking news that the 31-year-old singer had died after a fall from a third-story balcony of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Twist posted a broken heart emoji on Instagram along with the message, “Just a boy …,” in tribute to the singer whose death has shocked and saddened 1D fans and fellow musicians around the world. At press time it did not appear that Payne’s former bandmates — Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson — had commented on his passing. But some former fellow X-Factor stars paid tribute, including Olly Murs, who starred on the British version of the show in the year before 1D was put together on the program after the members initially auditioned as solo acts.
“This news is devastating, am lost for words 😣 we always had a good laugh when we saw each other, sometimes the catch ups were only short and sweet but when we did it was mostly about how annoyingly good his hair always looked, or our love for Becks, the old XF days and the tour we shared together,” wrote Murs along with a picture of the two men laughing. “Liam shared the same passions as me, the same dreams so to see his life now end so young hits hard, I’m truly gutted and devastated for his Family and of course his son Bear losing a dad x am thinking of them! RIP Liam.”
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Also remembering the singer who broke out on his own after 1D went on hiatus in 2015 was Kelsey Parker, widow of The Wanted’s Tom Parker, 33, who died in 2022 from brain cancer. She posted a picture of Payne with the message, “Devastated hearing the news. Liam you were one of the kindest souls who supported Tom and I. You’ve continued to support me and the children in recent years ❤️ I will never forget the love and support you showed to us. I really hope you have found peace 🙏🏻✨ My thoughts are with your family, friends and loved ones ❤️.”
According to People, Payne was among the guests who supported Parker’s bandmates and Kelsey Parker at her husband’s funeral in April 2022. In a second post cued to 1D’s “Little Things,” Kelsey Parker wrote, “TODAY IS A REMINDER THAT LIFE IS TOO DAMN SHORT. SO LOVE A LITTLE DEEPER, HUG A LITTLE TIGHTER, AND NEVER PASS UP THE CHANCE TO SAY ‘I LOVE YOU’ TO THOSE YOU LOVE BECAUSE TOMORROW IS NEVER PROMISED. 🙏🏻✨❤️.”
The Wanted’s Max George also honored Payne, writing, “Absolutely devastating news. I met Liam way back when 1D were on X Factor. Over the last few years I had the pleasure of getting to know him personally and spent some treasured time with him. Liam was absolutely wonderful in terms of support when Tom fell ill, performing at the Royal Albert Hall with us for Stand Up To Cancer. He supported me a lot personally after Tom passed. I will never forget that. My thoughts are with his family, friends and fans all around the world at this tragic time. Rest in Peace Liam. Much love brother 🖤.”
Boy bands The Wanted and One Direction’s careers roughly overlapped, with the former band releasing their self-titled debut album in Oct. 2010 and 1D dropping their debut, Up All Night, one year later. The X-Factor, the British reality singing show that helped launch 1D, also remembered Payne, writing, “We are heartbroken.”
Another member of the Wanted, Siva Kaneswaran, wrote on his Instagram Story, “This hurts. He was so supportive at Tom’s funeral. RIP you kind soul.”
Check out the tributes below.