One Direction Mentor Nicole Scherzinger Was Texting Liam Payne on Day of His Death

Singer and former X-Factor judge, Nicole Scherzinger, was texting Liam Payne on the day he died, according to Andrew Lloyd Webber.

The 76-year-old composer, who wrote the music for Broadway’s Sunset Blvd that currently stars Nicole, 46, revealed her text exchange with the former One Direction member during an interview with Billboard that was posted on Thursday, October 24, 2024.

“I suppose something that hasn’t been said, and I suppose I could say, is that of course she mentored Liam, from One Direction,” Andrew said of the songstress. “On the Wednesday when he died, she was still texting him that day.”

“She’d just heard that he died and the fact that she even did the show at all is extraordinary. I mean, she is an amazing, amazing woman,” he continued. “She is without any question one of the finest performers I’ve ever worked with.”

Liam died at age 31 on Wednesday, October 16, after falling from his hotel room’s third-story balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. An autopsy report revealed that the musician died of “multiple traumas” involving “internal and external hemorrhage.”

On October 24, Nicole posted in Liam’s honor on Instagram, saying she will always cherish the memories they’ve made together. “It was such a blessing to get to work with you recently,” she wrote in the post. “We shared the same love and passion for music and I will forever remember the meaningful and joyful conversations we had.”

Nicole first met Liam when he auditioned as a teenager on The X Factor UK in 2010, and helped to form One Direction, which included Liam, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson  In 2022, The X Factor uploaded the backstage deliberations that resulted in the members of the five-piece being selected among all the other rejected singers, with Nicole having a large hand in assembling the group.

“It’s the cutest boy band ever,” she said in the never-before-seen clip, as photos of the members get added into the final line-up. “The little girls are gonna love them,” she continued, before adding: “They have just the right look and the right charisma on stage, I think they’ll be really great in a boy band together. They’re like little stars. You can’t get rid of little stars, so you put them all together.”

Later, after Liam’s photo is added to the 1D pile, judge Simon Cowell suggests that that the singer should maybe go into another potential group — however, Nicole stands by the decision. “He can actually maybe be the leader,” she said. Zayn is finally added to the five-piece, and the rest is history.

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