Rita Ora was overcome with emotion during her concert in Japan as she tried to perform her duet with Liam Payne, just hours after his unexpected passing. The 33-year-old singer found it difficult to articulate her words and even briefly left the stage as "For You" — the song she recorded with Payne for "Fifty Shades Freed" — played while a photo of them was shown on the big screen.
Ora began strongly, encouraging fans to raise their hands, but her emotions soon took over. She then sat on the stage, attempting to sing a verse but stopping midway through. "I can't even sing this right now," she told the audience. In clips shared on X (formerly Twitter), Ora was seen covering her face and fighting back tears. At one point, she walked to the front of the stage, shook her head, and appeared to apologize to fans in the front row.
After glancing at the image of her with Payne on the big screen, Ora left the stage. On Thursday, she publicly mourned the former One Direction singer's death, sharing photos of their time together and expressing her devastation. Payne passed away at 31 after falling from the third-floor balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Shocking images from the scene showed his hotel room in disarray, with traces of a white powder that authorities are testing to determine if it is cocaine. The photos also revealed a smashed television, a half-empty glass of champagne, and foil scattered near the white powder. Official sources connected to the investigation verified these images.
Eyewitnesses claimed Payne was "acting erratic" in the hotel lobby and had allegedly smashed his computer before being carried to his room. Around 5 p.m., officials received a 911 call about an "aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol." Payne's body was found on the ground floor with a bottle of whiskey, a lighter, and a cellphone.
Medical officials confirmed that Payne died instantly from "very serious injuries," including a fractured skull. The autopsy concluded that his official cause of death was "polytrauma, internal and external hemorrhage," with significant injuries to his skull, thorax, abdomen, and limbs contributing to his death. The position of his body and the nature of his injuries suggested he did not attempt to protect himself and may have fallen while semi or totally unconscious.
A top medic stated that there was nothing they could do to save Payne's life. Payne had been in Argentina with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, 25, since earlier this month. They attended his former bandmate Niall Horan's concert in Buenos Aires on October 2. Cassidy returned to the States with Payne on Monday, just two days before his death.
Payne left behind a son, Bear, 7, whom he shared with his ex-girlfriend, Cheryl Cole. The pair met in 2010 when Payne was a contestant on "The X Factor" and Cole was a judge. They started dating in 2016 and broke up in 2018. Payne rose to fame with One Direction, one of the highest-selling boy bands of all time, with hits like "What Makes You Beautiful" and "Best Song Ever." After Zayn Malik left the group in 2015, One Direction went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016.
