Fionnuala Jones: Liam Payne, One Direction and Beatlemania in the internet age

There was no One Direction without Liam Payne

Having initially been pegged as the group’s leader, as well as one of the strongest vocalists, it seemed certain that Liam Payne would succeed in some capacity post-1D. File photo

In 2010, a floppy-haired boy from Wolverhampton crossed the stage at The X Factor auditions in Wembley Stadium with ambitions of stardom. 

What followed — a stunning performance of  Cry Me A River, with Simon Cowell calling the rendition “extraordinary”. No one embodied the essence of the show more than Liam Payne did at that time. 

At the bootcamp stage, guest judge Nicole Scherzinger suggested to her fellow judges that they put together an “imaginary boyband”. Following several rotations of headshots, Payne, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles and Zayn Malik were lined up together. 

One Direction was born. It would be easy to sneer at One Direction — a reality TV, manufactured, boyband whose early performances would send shivers down the spine of the most hardcore Directioners. 

And yet, with over 70 million records sold worldwide, their impact is still felt in 2024. One Direction were the first social media band, and perhaps the first who made the concept of fandom tangible. 

The band made weekly video diaries for The X Factor as it aired, documenting their experience and inviting fans to ask questions. In week two, when a fan asked what role each member played in the group, Louis Walsh called Liam “the smart one”. 

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This was Beatlemania in the age of the internet — fan accounts were set up and memes were created. Every fan aligned themselves with an individual member of the group — were you a Harry girl, or a Niall one? 

Despite being one of the most successful of The X Factor’s exports, One Direction came third in their series, being beaten out by Rebecca Ferguson and winner Matt Cardle. It didn’t matter though, they’d already solidified themselves as the new boyband, and the most triumphant iteration since Westlife. 

By speaking directly to their audience of predominantly girls, and young women, rather than pandering to the adults in the room, they changed the game. What Makes You Beautiful, their debut single, was “perfect”, according to Payne.

But was this all to be a flash in the pan, another forgotten X Factor artist never to be heard from again after album one?  Quite the opposite.

They even managed to crack America, becoming the first band in the history of the US Billboard Chart to see their first four albums debut at number one, defying the odds of reality TV contestants — this was no fluke.

By the time Malik left in 2015, Payne stepped in to cover vocals before the band regrouped for what would be their last album ahead of their indefinite hiatus. It was then time for them to explore other opportunities. 

Having initially been pegged as the group’s leader, as well as one of the strongest vocalists, it seemed certain that Payne would succeed in some capacity post-1D. But the path was not straightforward — Payne initially embarked on a production career, under the moniker of Big Payno. 

He returned to songwriting, before inevitably launching his own bid as a solo artist — his ultimate dream. Despite collaborating with huge industry names — Ed Sheeran, Fred Again and Pharrell Williams, to name a few — his solo artist success was limited. 

While his single Strip That Down went to number three in the UK and number 10 in the US, his debut album LP1 received overwhelmingly negative reviews, charting at number 17 in the UK and number 111 in the US.

He also went viral for several high-profile media appearances, including the oft-ridiculed Impaulsive podcast in 2022. There, he alleged, he had previously come to blows with another member of One Direction backstage at a concert, as well as criticising former member Malik. 

His comments were divisive among fans and fairweathers alike, with some seeing his words as a betrayal to his former bandmates — a bitter perspective from a man sidelined. 

A year later, Harry Styles would win Album Of The Year at the Grammys. Niall Horan’s third album The Show would top the charts in eight countries. It was easy to compare them when they appeared so divided, and what many had based their fan status on throughout the course of the group’s career.

Payne was candid about his mental health struggles post-One Direction, suffering from anxiety and depression. "Just every so often, you're like, when will this end?” he asked on the Ant Middleton and Liam Payne: Straight Stalking in 2019.

That's almost nearly killed me a couple of times.

In recent years, he 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.

In recent weeks, Payne had travelled to South America alongside his girlfriend Kate Cassidy to see Niall Horan on tour, after expressing a desire to reconnect on social media. The pair shared snaps backstage following the concert, his attendance drawing massive attention.

Earlier this year, Payne released Teardrops, with the promise of more new music to come. The song, he said, was “born from many tears. Some are mine. Others are not.” 

There was no One Direction without him.

• Fionnuala Jones is a writer and podcaster from Cork who covers pop culture