“It just doesn’t feel real”

“I feel so lucky to have been able to see him recently. Unfortunately I didn’t know that after saying goodbye and hugging him, I would be saying goodbye forever,” Horan wrote of Payne’s attendance at his concert in Buenos Aires on October 2.

Niall Horan is mourning his former bandmate.

The Irish singer posted a heartfelt tribute to Liam Payne on social media on Friday (October 18) following the news that the former One Direction member, 31, had died in Buenos Aires, Argentina on October 16 .

Payne died after falling several stories at the CasaSur Palermo hotel, the Argentine Federal Police confirmed to PEOPLE.

Sharing that he is “absolutely devastated” by Payne’s death, Horan, 31, wrote: “It doesn’t seem real. Liam had an energy for life and a passion for work that was infectious. He was the brightest of every room and always made everyone feel happy and safe.”

“All the laughs we had over the years, sometimes over the simplest things, keep coming to mind through the sadness,” Horan continued. “We got to live our wildest dreams together and I will forever cherish every moment we had. The bond and friendship we had doesn’t happen often in a lifetime.”

Horan then made reference to seeing Payne earlier this month when he attended one of Horan’s shows during his senior year. The Show: Live on Tour. Payne was at the Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires for Horan’s performance on October 2.

“I feel so blessed to have been able to see him recently. Unfortunately I didn’t know that after saying goodbye and hugging him, I would be saying goodbye forever. It’s heartbreaking,” added Horan.

The musician concluded his statement by sending his love and condolences to Payne’s family, before signing off with the message: “Thanks for everything Payno. Love you bro. Nialler.”

Payne had appeared to have fun when he attended Horan’s show on October 2, as fan-captured video of the concert showed the singer clapping along to the music and also posing for photos and videos, according to Pop Crave.

Before the concert, he had told fans in Snapchat videos that he and girlfriend Kate Cassidy wished Horan “health”.

“It’s been a while since me and Niall talked. We have a lot to talk about. And I’d like to clear up a couple of things with the guy. No bad vibes or anything like that. But only umwe need to talk,” Payne said in a Snapchat clip shared with X (formerly Twitter).

Horan and Payne performed together in the beloved boy band from 2010 to 2016. The band’s other original members included Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson. Malik left the band in 2015, ahead Made in the morningwhich was their fifth and final album before going on an indefinite hiatus. All five released solo music.

One Direction first formed on the British singing competition TV series The X factorwhere they finished third before finally signing to Simon Cowell’s record label, becoming one of the best-selling boy bands of all time.

Payne had reflected on his relationships with his former bandmates in the year before his death as ‘What Makes You Beautiful’, One Direction’s first single, reached one billion streams.

“I’m learning about myself and what this was all for,” he said in 2023. “But now when I listen and think about the power that we all had, including you as a fan base, I’m so happy that for five years we made a great soundtrack for life.”

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Read the original article on People.