One Direction Hits No. 2 Artist On Global Spotify Chart After Liam Payne’s Death

18 Oct 2024 by Conor Murray · Forbes

Topline

Songs by Liam Payne’s former band, One Direction, quickly climbed the Spotify charts after the singer’s death as fans worldwide pay tribute, with the band the most-streamed artist in their home United Kingdom on Thursday, and the No. 2 artist globally.

Payne died Wednesday at age 31 after falling from a balcony in Buenos Aires. (Photo by Andrew ... [+] Chin/Getty Images)Getty Images

Key Facts

One Direction rose from No. 55 to No. 2 between Wednesday and Thursday on the global Spotify artist chart, ranking only behind Taylor Swift, making the band the biggest gainer on the chart, Spotify said.

One Direction also rose 84 spots to No. 3 on the Spotify daily artists chart in the United States, ranking only behind Taylor Swift and Drake, while the band topped the daily artist chart in the United Kingdom.

“Night Changes,” one of the band’s biggest hits, with sentimental lyrics about the fleeting nature of life, surged to No. 6 on Spotify’s daily global songs chart with more than 4.6 million streams.

Nine of the band’s other big hits re-entered the global Spotify chart, including “Story of My Life” (No. 11), “What Makes You Beautiful” (No. 29) and “Perfect” (No. 33).

“Night Changes” also ranks No. 6 on TikTok’s trending songs this week as fans use the song in videos to pay tribute to Payne.

Tangent

Several artists have paid tribute to Payne on stage since his death, including singer Rita Ora, with whom Payne collaborated on their 2018 song, “For You.” Ora performed the song Wednesday night, hours after his death, but became visibly emotional. “I can’t even sing this right now,” she said, as a photo of her and Payne displayed on the screen behind her. Singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers performed a cover of “Night Changes” Thursday in Boston, stating she has been “thinking how precious life is and how quickly things can change” and wanted to honor fans of Payne and One Direction’s music.

What Have Payne’s Former Bandmates Said?

Payne’s former One Direction bandmates, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Harry Styles, shared a joint statement on the One Direction Instagram account Thursday night, and all four made individual statements between Thursday and Friday. “We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing,” the band’s joint statement says, adding the “memories we shared with him will be treasured forever.” Horan, whose concert Liam attended in Buenos Aires two weeks ago, said Payne “was the brightest in every room and always made everyone feel happy and secure” and said he feels “so fortunate I got to see him recently.” Malik admitted on Instagram he and Payne sometimes “butted heads,” but said he “lost a brother” and is “beyond devastated.” Tomlinson called Payne the “most vital part of One Direction” for “his perfect pitch, his stage presence, his gift for writing,” and Styles said he will remember his time with Payne as “among the most cherished years of my life.”

News Peg

Payne died at age 31 on Wednesday after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires. A preliminary autopsy revealed he died from injuries involving “internal and external hemorrhage.” Police responded to the scene after a hotel manager called to report “a guest who is overwhelmed with drugs and alcohol” who was destroying his hotel room. Payne had struggled with addiction during and after his time in One Direction, which included a 100-day stay in rehab last year. Payne said he suffered from alcoholism while One Direction was at its peak in the 2010s, adding he was relieved when the band broke up in 2016 because he “needed to stop or it would kill me.”

Key Background

One Direction became one of the biggest boy bands of all time after shooting to fame in 2010 on the U.K. version of “The X Factor,” where judges Simon Cowell and Nicole Scherzinger pieced the band together after all five members auditioned individually. Prior to going on hiatus, One Direction had sold 50 million records worldwide and grossed more than $570 million worldwide from concert tours. After the band’s hiatus, all five members embarked on solo music careers. Payne released one solo album, “LP1,” in 2019.