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Hundreds gathered Sunday (Oct. 20) in London’s Kensington Gardens to mourn Liam Payne as fans around the world grieved for the One Direction singer who died this week.
Directioners, as supporters of the massively successful boy band are known, left tributes in London, Glasgow, Paris, Sydney and New York this weekend as they celebrated the life of the 31-year-old who died Wednesday (Oct. 16) after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires.
Fans gather at the Peter Pan statue adorned with flowers and balloons during a tribute event in Hyde Park for Liam Payne on Oct. 20, 2024 in London, England.
Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images
In London, they clapped and sang after gathering near a statue of Peter Pan, the fictional boy who never grew up created by J.M. Barrie. The mourners, mostly young women, left heart-shaped balloons, photographs and flowers at the base of the statue, which sits next to a narrow path next to a waterway known as The Long Water.
Mindful of the crowds in the limited space, organizers asked fans to leave their tributes then move away to allow others to approach the statue.
Fans Lauren Anderson and Natasha Bradley, both 23, said they wanted to be with others who shared their grief.
“Your parents, they don’t really understand how much [One Direction] really meant to you growing up,” Bradley said, explaining why she came to the park.
Tributes are left as fans gather in Hyde Park to hold a memorial event for Liam Payne on Oct. 20, 2024 in London, England.
Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images
The vigils followed those that took place outside the Casa Sur Hotel in the chic Palermo neighborhood of Argentina’s capital immediately after Payne fell from his third-floor hotel room. The four surviving members of One Direction issued a joint statement saying they were “completely devastated” by the death of their bandmate.
In Paris’ Tuileries Gardens, hundreds of fans — many of them crying and carrying flowers — gathered to remember Payne.
They sang songs and consoled each other. Some lit candles. Others brought photos and artwork of Payne, as well as notes, letters and bouquets. About 400 people attended the gathering, overlooking Paris’ historic Place de la Concorde.
Distraught 26-year-old Emilie Houdinet said she’d been a fan of the band since 2011.
“They helped me. They were there throughout my adolescence to age 18. They were a bit like dads to us,” she said. “They were just a boys band but they were very important to us.”
Fans gather in Hyde Park to hold a memorial event for Liam Payne on Oct. 20, 2024 in London, England.
Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images
One Direction rose to worldwide popularity soon after the band was formed in 2010 from five young singers who auditioned for the X Factor, a British TV talent show. The band broke up in 2016 after producing five albums that sold more than 70 million copies.
Billie Eilish made a celestial appearance on Saturday Night Live. The 22-year-old pop star dropped by Studio 8H on Oct. 19 for her fourth time as musical guest on the long-running NBC sketch comedy show, delivering a pair of out-of-this-world live performances from her third album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, which dropped in May. […]
More than 18 months in, everyone can agree that Taylor Swift‘s Eras tour is more than just your average concert. It’s an event. Swift herself even used that word to describe what her record-slashing trek has become during the second of three sold-out nights at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday (Oct. 19). Fans by […]
Sarcastically noting that answering questions is “my favorite thing to do,” Cher answered a few from the press backstage at the 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday (Oct. 19).
After taking the Rock Hall to task during her speech for waiting 35 years to induct her after she became eligible, Cher acknowledges that, “I have a kind love hate relationship [with the Rock Hall], because I thought, ‘What do I have to f–king do , y’know, to be inducted into this place? What do you have to do to be a part of it?’”
Though tempted to tell David Geffen, who she said wrote a letter to the Hall of Fame Foundation on her behalf, to “please take it back,” Cher said that in the end she was happy with the way things turned out. “I felt good. I can say that I’m happy that I’m in,” she says. “If I didn’t [think] it, I wouldn’t be here.”
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Reflecting on a 60-year career dating back to work with her late ex-husband Sonny Bono and sessions with Phil Spector’s Wrecking Crew, the singer said that she struggles with thoughts of legacy. “I [didn’t] have perspective, exactly — I just was busy living my life, so I wasn’t like thinking about it at all,” she says. “I was thinking about it from minute to minute, thing to thing. I thought of myself as a bumper car and when I hit a road I would just back up and turn in a different direction, because I wasn’t going to stop doing what I loved.”
And what about Sonny & Cher making it to the Rock Hall one day? “I think that we deserve it, ” Cher tells Billboard. “Even if we weren’t exactly rock ‘n roll, we represented music. I know it’s not like … we were corny, but we were very avant garde for what was happening at the time, so, I don’t know. I didn’t expect to get in. I just thought, ‘They’re never gonna let you in, b–ch.’”
During her speech, Cher made sure to send a message to all of the women watching around the world: “The one thing I have never done, is I never give up,” she explained. “And I am talking to the women, okay … we have been down and out, but we keep striving, and we keep going and we are somebody. We are special.”
The Rockabye Baby! collection Lullaby Renditions of Taylor Swift Volume 2, which was released digitally last month, is now available on vinyl to lull little Swifties to sleep.
Lullaby Renditions of Taylor Swift Volume 2 was released on Friday (Oct. 18), giving record player lovers an excuse to buy one for the nursery.
Sweet, instrumental reimaginings of “Fortnight,” “Wildest Dreams,” “August,” “Cardigan” and “Lover” are included on the release, as well as gentle lullaby versions of dynamic pop hits like “Cruel Summer” and “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.”
The new release, found on Rockabye Baby!’s website for $30, features clear and purple color-in-color vinyl, a full-color sleeve, a fold-out, poster-sized coloring page and a digital download card. The sleeve design is a play on Swift’s tour poster, swapping teddy bears in for the many eras of Swift.
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It follows 2015’s Lullaby Renditions of Taylor Swift, Rockabye Baby!’s first set of Swift-themed lullabies.
Swift, who will officially release her The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology album on vinyl on Black Friday, resumed hers Eras Tour this weekend with three concerts in Miami following a two-month break. She’ll bring the show to New Orleans next, which will be followed by performances in Indianapolis, Toronto and Vancouver (where on Dec. 8 she’ll officially wrap the tour).
Get a preview of “Cruel Summer” as a lullaby and see the full track list below.
Lullaby Renditions of Taylor Swift Volume 2 Track List
1. “Anti-Hero”2. “You Need To Calm Down” 3. “Fortnight”4. “Look What You Made Me Do”5. “Cruel Summer”6. “Karma”7. “Don’t Blame Me”8. “Wildest Dreams”9. “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart”10. “August”11. “Willow”12. “Cardigan”13. “Lover”14. “Enchanted”
Zayn Malik is pushing back his first-ever headlining tour following the death of his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne.
On Saturday (Oct. 19), the “Pillowtalk” singer announced on social media that he is delaying the U.S. leg of his Stairway to the Sky Tour, which was scheduled to launch Oct. 23 at San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium and wrap Nov. 3 at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom.
“Given the heartbreaking loss experienced this week, I’ve made the decision to postpone the US leg of the STAIRWAY TO THE SKY Tour,” Malik wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “The dates are being rescheduled for January and I’ll post them as soon as it’s all set in the next few days. Your tickets will remain valid for the new dates. Love you all and thank you for your understanding.”
The former One Direction singer announced his Stairway to the Sky Tour during The Tonight Show in mid-September. The trek — which will also visit similar-sized venues in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. — marks his first-ever solo outing. According to his website, Malik was still scheduled at press time to play U.K. shows in Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester, London, Wolverhampton and Newcastle, beginning in late November through early December.
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Zayn will have four solo albums of material to choose from during the tour: his 2016 debut, Mind of Mine, 2018’s Icarus Falls, 2021’s Nobody Is Listening and this year’s Room Under the Stairs.
Malik’s tour postponement arrives three days following the death of his former 1D bandmate and “brother” Payne. Zayn honored Liam in a heartfelt post on Instagram shortly after the tragic news.
“I can’t help but think selfishly that there was so many more conversations for us to have in our lives,” Malik wrote alongside a photo of himself laying in Payne’s lap as the two then-teenagers take a nap. “I never got to thank you for supporting me through some of the most difficult times in my life. When I was missing home as a 17 yr old kid you would always be there with a positive outlook and reassuring smile and let me know you were my friend and I was loved.”
Malik’s statement came in addition to one from Louis Tomlinson and a joint message by the surviving members of One Direction, in which they noted that they are “completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing.” The group statement continued, “In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly. The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever.”
Payne died on Wednesday (Oct. 16) after sustaining multiple traumas and hemorrhages after falling from the third floor of his hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a recent preliminary autopsy confirmed. Local authorities believe he was not sober at the time and found substances that appeared to be narcotics and alcoholic drinks in his room after they arrived at the scene.
See Zayn’s tour postponement announcement on X below.
Given the heartbreaking loss experienced this week, I’ve made the decision to postpone the US leg of the STAIRWAY TO THE SKY Tour. The dates are being rescheduled for January and I’ll post them as soon as it’s all set in the next few days. Your tickets will remain valid for the…— zayn (@zaynmalik) October 19, 2024
Liam Payne‘s sister Ruth Gibbins is breaking her silence following the singer’s death.
On Saturday (Oct. 19), Gibbins shared a heartbreaking tribute to her brother three days after he passed away at the age of 31.
“I don’t believe this is happening. Many times I have poured my heart out publicly with pride about Liam but never much about life as his sister,” Gibbins began her lengthy statement on Instagram. “Liam is my best friend, [no one] could ever make me laugh as much as him, doing his impressions always had me creasing and he loved seeing how much of a laugh he could get.”
The grieving sister went on to explain that Payne “moved out when he was 17 to chase his dreams” and that she would visit him during his stint on The X Factor, the U.K. talent show he appeared on before hitting it big with One Direction.
“I would regularly drive to have tea with him after I finished work, just to sit around,” she wrote. “One month the hotel was right by a wagamamas and I swear he had it morning, noon and night!”
Gibbins added that “Liam loved 1D” and referred to the group’s Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan as his “brothers.” She also noted that Payne “knew he could call me anytime” and that she would often help her sibling work through his issues.
“Liam, My brain is struggling to catch up with what’s happening and I don’t understand where you’ve gone,” she continued, addressing her brother directly. “I just want to drive to your house and walk in to music blasting and find you sat there writing a song.”
Gibbins added that Liam possessed a great “kindness” and had the “ability to make me laugh.” She also noted “how proud I am to call you my brother and my best friend.”
“I don’t feel this world was good enough or kind enough to you, and quite often over the last few years, you’ve had to really try hard to overcome all that was being aimed at you,” she wrote. “You just wanted to be loved and to make people happy with your music. You never believed you were good enough, I hope you can now see this outpouring of love that you never received in your time.”
She concluded her post, “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. Love you, oh how my heart misses you, Ru xxx. One last thing I need to know, I’m here if you need anything, I’d drive to the end of the universe to bring you back.”
Gibbins’ emotional post was accompanied by numerous photos, including a snapshot of the brother and sister on her wedding day and other pics of the pair spending time together.
The former One Direction star died on Wednesday (Oct. 16) after suffering a fatal fall from the third floor of his hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Investigators believe that he was potentially under the influence of substances when he fell, but they are still waiting for further toxicology reports.
See Gibbins’ tribute to Payne on Instagram below.
Otis Williams had a confession.
Asked whether he was a baseball fan, the 82-year-old founder of The Temptations coughed and said in a low, sing-song voice: “Dodgers.”
Sixty years after its debut, The Temptations’ “My Girl” has become a hit at Citi Field since New York Mets star Francisco Lindor began using it as his walk-up song in late May. Fans continue singing the lyrics even after Lindor’s plate appearance is underway.
The Temptations detoured to New York on an off day from their tour to perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “My Girl” before the Mets beat Los Angeles 12-6 on Friday night (Oct. 18) and closed to 3-2 in the NL Championship Series.
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“It’s the highest compliment you can get,” Williams said in a green room behind home plate.
Wearing blue tuxedos with orange pocket squares, the five singers stood on the warning track behind home plate and sang an a cappella version of the national anthem that highlighted their harmonic excellence as Lindor watched from the foul line behind first base and sang along.
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They then donned Mets jerseys and sang “My Girl” with music backing them on the sound system as Lindor warmed up with sprints on the outfield grass, smiling widely and bobbing his head. He reached the dugout by the end and exchanged his special pregame handshake with with teammate Pete Alonso.
“Most players, they pick a walk-up song just because that’s how they feel in the moment but they also want the fans to vibe to to the song,” Lindor said. “Whenever you see the whole crowd getting into it, I think it’s pretty cool.”
Released on Dec. 21, 1964, “My Girl” became the group’s first No. 1 hit the following March and has been streamed 1 billion times on Spotify. The song’s impact became clear to Williams during a 1965 concert at Harlem’s Apollo Theater.
“We went out on the stage and we did the show without ‘My Girl.’ They damned near called us every name except the child of God,” he said, “so we know we can never, ever take that the song out.”
Lindor picked the song because of his wife Katia and daughters Kalina and Amapola. He didn’t anticipate the reaction.
“Last year I changed the song every single day,” he said. “I changed it because it was the song I was vibing to at the moment and it took off. I don’t know if it’s because I started hitting or because we started winning or because the song is good.”
“My Girl” was written and produced by Smokey Robinson and Ronnie White.
“Smokey saw us perform in Detroit at a place called the 20 Grand and he said then, ‘I got a song for you guys’ and he pointed to Davey Ruffin,” Williams recalled, referring to a lead singer for the group in the 1960s.
“So we went in the studio and we put the vocals down and I said: ‘Smokey did another great song for us.’ But when Paul Riser edited the strings and horns, I said, ‘Oh, oh, this is a different kind of song.’ So I went in the control room. I said, ‘Smokey, I don’t know how big a record this is going to become, but this is going to be something big.’”
A few months after the release, Williams said he received congratulatory telegrams from the Supremes and the Beatles, proudly proclaiming: “I have that at the house.”
The Temptations were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 for a catalogue including “Just My Imagination,” “Get Ready” and “Papa Was a Rolling Stone.” They’ve had 14 No. 1 hits and 42 in the top 10.
Sujata Murthy, Universal Music Enterprises’ executive vice president of media and artist relations, took notice of Lindor’s use of the song and contacted the Mets. The group was in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, for a concert last weekend and diverted to New York ahead of performances this weekend at North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Durham, North Carolina.
Williams, who turns 83 on Oct. 30, is the last original member of the group. He has no intention of retiring.
“I tell people I’m going to ride the hell out of the horse,” he said. “When I get off the horse, it’s going to be bald. That’s a lot of rides when you ride the horse bald.”
Williams grew up in Detroit, but the Motown baseball team did not get his allegiance.
“Tigers is flimflam,” he said. “But the Lions now, they got promise. They got hope. I love the Lions. I’m still a Detroiter at heart, even though I’m in LA.”
10/19/2024
From new outfits to new surprise songs, Billboard rounds up the eight best moments from the first of three sold-out nights at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
10/19/2024
Olivia Rodrigo accidentally stumbled into a hilariously awkward situation at a recent Guts World Tour show.
While interacting with fans in the audience during her first tour stop in Sydney on Thursday (Oct. 17), the 21-year-old pop star had good intentions when she asked two people in attendance she thought were a couple to kiss for the jumbotron. “You guys are so cute,” she said in the moment. “I have a really huge fun think to ask: Would you guys give us a kiss on the Guts cam?”
When the boy she’d singled out immediately shook his head and mouthed, “She’s my sister” as the girl next to him blushed, the crowd at Sydney SuperDome roared with laughter. “She’s your sister! Sh–!” yelled Rodrigo in response, backing away. “Never mind, never mind, scrap that!”
“Oh, f—, wow,” the “Vampire” singer added. “That hasn’t happened before.”
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The fan later posted a video of the moment captioned, “Olivia Rodrigo asking my sister and I to kiss was not on my 2024 bingo card.”
“I AM SO SORRY,” Rodrigo wrote in the comments.
The three-time Grammy winner has been on the road since February, but she’ll soon be done touring for the rest of 2024 once her four-night stay in Sydney wraps up Oct. 22. In March, she’ll perform a limited run of shows in Latin America before playing two rescheduled shows in Manchester June 30 and July 1.
“It’s overwhelming — in the best way — to work with such a large, incredible crew and put shows on every night in front of big audiences,” Rodrigo recently reflected of the tour in an interview with Billboard. “Everyone’s energy is really inspiring and makes me want to bring my all every night. That being said, sometimes it can get very overstimulating. I’ve learned so much about how to take care of myself by being on the road.”
And though the entire run has largely gone off without a hitch, Rodrigo did experience a hiccup in Melbourne a few days prior to her first Sydney show. While running around on stage, the musician fell through a random hole in the floor before getting straight back up like a pro, telling fans: “Oh my God, that was fun … I’m OK!”
See the moment Rodrigo accidentally asked two siblings to kiss below.