Zayn Malik had postponed the start of his European tour to ensure he could be there to bid his friend farewell.
Malik and Payne hadn't always had the closest friendship, but in paying tribute to Payne, Malik acknowledged his admiration for the singer.
"Even though you were younger than me you were always more sensible than me, you were headstrong, opinionated, and gave no f--ks about telling people when they were wrong," Malik wrote to his 53.3 million Instagram followers one day after Payne's death.
"Even though we butted heads because of this a few times, I always secretly respected you for it."
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English (US) ·