Niall Horan<\/a> lost both a friend and bandmate when Liam Payne<\/a> died in 2024 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina. And in a new interview, the Irish star opened up about how his grief over his former One Direction bandmate led him to retreat from the rest of the world for a while.<\/p>\n In a GQ HYPE<\/a> cover story published Thursday (March 19), Horan shared that he \u201cwent into hiding a little bit\u201d after learning of his friend\u2019s passing. \u201cI just remember getting a message,\u201d he recalled of learning that Payne had died, just two weeks after the late singer had attended Horan\u2019s concert<\/a> in Argentina. \u201cI was just like, \u2018What?\u2019 \u2026 I just didn\u2019t think it was real.\u201d<\/p>\n More from Billboard<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cSomeone so young, you\u2019re not expecting to hear that they\u2019ve passed, especially someone that you\u2019ve just seen,\u201d he continued. \u201cI just went back from shock to sadness to anger.\u201d<\/p>\n In the days that followed Payne\u2019s death, all four of the surviving 1D members shared statements \u2014 as well as a joint band message \u2014 mourning the loss of the British singer-songwriter. \u201cI\u2019m absolutely devastated about the passing of my amazing friend, Liam,\u201d Horan wrote<\/a> at the time. \u201cIt just doesn\u2019t feel real.\u201d<\/p>\n Behind the scenes, the \u201cSlow Hands\u201d musician took a beat to process what had happened, eventually writing \u201cEnd of an Era,\u201d a song from his upcoming album Dinner Party, about Payne. Some of the lyrics were included in the cover story, with Horan singing of his friend, \u201cWe had it\/ Pure magic \/Remember what it was like\/ Time passes \/So fast and \/I couldn\u2019t tell you goodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n But while he didn\u2019t have the chance to properly say farewell to Payne, Horan does appear to be the last member of 1D who got to see the \u201cStrip That Down\u201d artist. At Horan\u2019s show in Buenos Aires on Oct. 2, 2024, Payne smiled at and chatted with fans in the venue and cheered on his fellow X Factor alum from the stands, at some point hanging out together offstage.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was great,\u201d Horan reflected of the experience. \u201c[He] seemed in good form, and we had a good laugh, good reminisce \u2026 I heard Louis [Tomlinson] talking about this recently, it\u2019s so true. It\u2019s like you haven\u2019t seen each other in ages and then you just fall back in like it was 10 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n Though Payne inspired \u201cEnd of an Era,\u201d most of the rest of Dinner Party is about the domestic bliss Horan has found with girlfriend Amelia Woolley over the last few years. Even the title of the album \u2014 and its lead single\/title track, which dropped Friday (March 20) \u2014 pays homage<\/a> to the type of gathering at which Horan first met Woolley.<\/p>\n In a Friday chat on Heart Breakfast<\/a> With Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden, Horan said Woolley is \u201cdumbfounded\u201d by her role as his muse. \u201cShe\u2019s obviously never had a song written about her before,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then I\u2019ve written basically two albums about her and she\u2019s like, \u2018Ehh?’\u201d<\/p>\n See Horan on the cover of GQ HYPE below.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Billboard VIP Pass<\/p>\n Best of Billboard<\/strong><\/p>\n Sign up for Billboard’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Niall Horan lost both a friend and bandmate when Liam Payne died in 2024 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina. And in a new interview, the Irish star opened up about how his grief over his former One Direction bandmate led him to retreat from the rest of the world for a while. 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