One Direction star Liam Payne died suddenly on Wednesday after suffering a medical emergency and falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was 31.

Payne was fully vaccinated and boosted with COVID-19 vaccines, announcing that he had his “third dose of the covid vaccine” in January 2022.

Police announced they discovered Payne’s body after an ambulance responded to a 911 call in the upscale Buenos Aires district of Palermo.

Payne had risen to global superstardom as part of the hugely popular pop band One Direction created on the X Factor in 2010, along with Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik.

Emergency medical services director Alberto Crescenti said Payne had suffered “serious injuries” after falling from the balcony and that an investigation into the sudden and unexpected death is ongoing.

According to police in Buenos Aires, police at the scene were initially responding to reports “of an aggressive man who may have been under the effects of drugs and alcohol”.

Once news of the death broke, fans began gathering outside the Buenos Aires hotel where the death took place, prompting police to cordon off the entrance. BBC report:

Payne, who was born in Wolverhampton in the UK, first tried for stardom when he auditioned for ITV talent show The X Factor in 2008 – but judge Simon Cowell told him to “come back in two years”.

He did, impressing the judges more in 2010, and was put together with four other solo hopefuls at the boot camp stage and One Direction were born.

The group had four UK number one albums and four number ones singles as well as topping charts around the world, before announcing they were going on a hiatus in 2015.

In 2017, Payne’s debut solo single Strip That Down which peaked at number three on the Official UK Chart, and his collaboration with Rita Ora on the song For You – from the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack – also reached the top 10.

He began a relationship with Girls Aloud star Cheryl Cole in 2016 and they had a son, Bear, the following year. The couple split in 2018.

In recent weeks, claims had circulated on social media about his behavior towards other former partners, with one reported on Tuesday to have taken legal action to stop him contacting her friends and family.

Condelonces began pouring in immediately once the news broke.

“Sending love and condolences to his family [and] loved ones,” socialite Paris Hilton wrote on X. “RIP my friend.”