Harry Styles Opens Up About How Liam Payne's Death Affected Him

Mar 4, 2026 10:02am PT Harry Styles Opens Up About How Liam Payne’s Death Affected Him: ‘Live Your Life to the Fullest’ By Steven J. Horowitz Plus Icon Steven J. Horowitz Senior Music Writer speriod Latest Charli xcx, Rüfüs Du Sol, the Strokes to Headline Outside Lands 2026 23 hours ago Kesha Blasts White House for Using Her Song ‘Blow’ in Video That ‘Makes Light of War’: ‘Disgusting and Inhumane’ 2 days ago Megan Moroney’s ‘Cloud 9’ Becomes First Country Album by a Female Artist to Top Chart in Nearly Two Years 2 days ago See All Getty Images for The Recording A Amid the rollout for his new album “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.,” Harry Styles opened up about the loss of his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne, telling Apple Music’s Zane Lowe that it made him want to “[live] your life to the fullest.” Styles was discussing how artists are all “ordinary people” when Lowe mentioned that it made him think of Payne and “people who struggled to get out of extraordinary situations.” Related Stories Steven Spielberg Joins SXSW Lineup for Keynote Conversation Australia's Filmbarr Formally Launches With Pair of SXSW Titles, Unveils Slate Including FrightFest Horror and Venice-Linked True Crime Drama (EXCLUSIVE) “I struggle with that a little bit even,” responded Styles. “I think there was a period when he passed away where I really struggled with kind of like acknowledging how strange it is to have people kind of like own part of your grief in a way. I have such strong feelings around my friend passing away. And then suddenly being, you know, like aware of there’s maybe like a desire from other people of you to convey that in some way, or it means you’re not feeling what you’re feeling or something, you know?” Popular on Variety Styles continued by sharing how Payne’s death in October 2024 impacted him and led him to examine how he wanted to navigate his own life. “It’s so difficult to lose a friend. It’s difficult to lose any friend, but it’s so difficult to lose a friend who is so like you in so many ways,” he said. “It’s like, I saw someone with the kindest heart who just wanted to be great. It was a really important moment for me in terms of taking a look at my life and being able to say to myself, ‘OK, what do I want to do with my life? How do I want to live my life?’ And I think the greatest way you can honor your friends who pass away is by living your life to the fullest. Like super special person and really sad.” Following Payne’s death, Styles shared a statement along with his fellow One Direction members — Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson — stating that they were “devastated” to learn of his passing. “In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly. The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever. For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us. We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam.” Watch the interview below: Jump to Comments Amazon Spent $22.4 Billion on Content in 2025, Up 10% Alia Bhatt’s Eternal Sunshine Productions Teams With Prime Video on Coming-of-Age Rom-Com ‘Don’t Be Shy’ (EXCLUSIVE) Apple Revenue Pops 16% to Nearly $144 Billion in Year-End 2025 Quarter on iPhone 17 Sales Blitz, Services Biz Hits $30 Billion ‘For All Mankind’ Season 5 Trailer: Mars Takes On Earth in the Alternate 2010s ‘House of David’ Season 2 Sets March Release Date at Prime Video Anil Kapoor Action-Drama ‘Subedaar’ Sets Prime Video Bow, Unveils Teaser (EXCLUSIVE) JavaScript is required to load the comments. Loading comments...