AJ McLean Breaks Silence On Liam Payne’s Tragic Death

AJ McLean of The Backstreet Boys is honoring Liam Payne as “a lightweight” in his life following the tragic passing of the previous One Direction star, particularly reminiscing about their time collectively whereas collaborating on a brand new Netflix collection.

The 46-year-old spoke about Liam’s loss of life at LAX, revealing how the 2 solid a friendship whereas engaged on “Constructing the Band,” a music competitors present that enables singers to create the following huge pop group.

AJ McLean shared that they just lately wrapped filming the collection, throughout which era he, Liam Payne, Nicole Scherzinger, and Kelly Rowland labored intently collectively for six weeks.

AJ, who has confronted his personal struggles with dependancy all through his profession, talked about that he did not discover any warning indicators whereas working alongside Liam. Nonetheless, he acknowledged that the 2 singers who rose to fame in boy bands, shared “a lot of similarities.”

“Dependancy is an actual factor. Happily, I got here out the opposite finish, however I’m one in every of few,” he advised TMZ.

Whereas they by no means delved into their particular person sobriety journeys, AJ revealed that he and Liam usually mentioned “life,” describing the late pop star as “very humorous” and a “sweetheart.”

Whereas stories declare that Liam advised buddies, household, and followers that he was sober earlier this 12 months, the pop star was discovered with medicine in his lodge room. A partial post-mortem report later revealed that there were multiple drugs found in his system at the time of death, together with cocaine, benzodiazepines, crack, and one thing referred to as pink cocaine.

Regardless of its deceptive title, pink cocaine isn’t cocaine in any respect. Featured in a 2022 VICE documentary, this neon-colored substance is usually a mixture of MDMA, ketamine, and caffeine. It might probably additionally comprise different substances comparable to benzodiazepines, meth, and cathinones.

After studying of his passing, Liam’s former One Course bandmate Zayn Malik shared a touching tribute.

“Liam, I’ve discovered myself speaking out loud to you, hoping you possibly can hear me, I can’t assist however assume selfishly that there are such a lot of extra conversations for us to have in our lives,” Zayn started by way of Instagram on Thursday, October 17. “I by no means received to thanks for supporting me by means of among the most troublesome occasions in my life.”

He continued, “After I was lacking house as a 17-year-old child, you’d at all times be there with a optimistic outlook and reassuring smile and let me know that you simply had been my good friend and that I beloved. Despite the fact that you had been youthful than me you had been at all times extra wise than me, you had been headstrong, opinionated, and gave no f-ck about telling individuals after they had been flawed.”

The 2 had a falling out, and whereas it’s unclear in the event that they reconciled earlier than Liam’s passing, Zayn stated, “Despite the fact that we butted heads due to this just a few occasions, I at all times secretly revered you for it.”

Harry Kinds, who achieved exceptional success in his solo profession following the band’s break up, fondly remembered Liam as somebody who “lived extensive open, together with his coronary heart on his sleeve.” He described him as “heat, supportive, and extremely loving.”

“His biggest pleasure was making different individuals joyful, and it was an honor to be alongside him as he did it,” Harry stated of his former bandmate. “Liam lived extensive open, together with his coronary heart on his sleeve, he had an power for all times that was infectious. He was heat, supportive, and extremely loving.”

He added, “The years we spent collectively will without end stay among the many most cherished years of my life. I’ll miss him at all times, my beautiful good friend.”

The previous One Course star tragically handed away earlier this week in Argentina after reportedly falling from a third-floor balcony.

As investigations into his loss of life unfold, stories counsel that Liam was below the affect of medication, exhibiting erratic conduct on the lodge and inflicting harm earlier than being escorted again to his room. In a 911 name, a lodge receptionist named Esteban described Liam as “off his head in medicine” and urgently requested that an ambulance be dispatched.

It was later revealed that lodge employees made two calls to emergency providers, stressing the necessity for “pressing” help for the singer.