AJ McLean is one of the few people who heard some of the music Liam Payne was working on prior to his death in October 2024. The Backstreet Boys member developed a close rapport with the One Direction singer while working on the Netflix series Building the Band. In a recent interview with Today, McLean detailed the songs Payne previewed for him that remain unreleased.
“He was just an absolute sweetheart, witty, funny. He sent me an unreleased body of work to get my opinion on it — and I never put that out there,” McLean said. “I thought that was really sweet that he would entrust someone that he’s still learning about to give their opinion.” He added, “I thought it was a great body of work. And I hope that the world and that the fans get to hear it somewhere down the road. It’s beautiful, beautiful music.”
Payne released the single “Teardrops” in March 2024, which was meant to appear on his second studio album. Another boyband member, ‘NSYNC’s JC Chasez, served as a collaborator on the song. “This album literally is that whole last year for me. How I was feeling on those days is each record. It was a snapshot of that day,” Payne said prior to the single release. “So you can even help someone through a tough time, help somebody celebrate something. That’s really what I want to get across in this record and that’s the best part I guess about my job.”
“Teardrops” ultimately became Payne’s final music release. The musician died on Oct. 16 at the age of 31 from injuries sustained after falling from the balcony of his hotel room. Less than two weeks after his death, the musician Sam Pounds announced and later postponed plans to release their collaboration “Do No Wrong,” saying, “It’s not the time yet.”
Next week’s premiere of Making the Band will mark Payne’s first posthumous appearance. Netflix previously paused production on the series given his involvement as a judge. The show will be released in three parts this month. The first four episodes will be available on July 9, with three more dropping on July 16, and the final set on July 23.
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“I had known him prior to the show, but not as close as we got,” McLean, who hosts the show, said. “Obviously, we’re with each other 12 to 14 hour days for about five weeks, you do learn a lot about someone.” Earlier this year, McLean told Rolling Stone he “immediately connected” with Payne “on not only a music level but a human level,” adding, “We both were living a parallel life. There was a lot of funny boy-band jabs that we would take at each other. He really had a quick wit to him — that nice, dry, British humor.”
McLean described Payne as “well spoken, very supportive, rigorously honest, in a compassionate way,” adding that he “always spoke from the heart.”
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Last week, Payne’s sister Ruth Gibbins celebrated his performance in Building the Band after the series trailer was released. “I didn’t know whether to share this but it felt weird when I’ve raved about Liam’s work and achievements for the last 15 years,” she wrote on Instagram. “Im heartbroken he never got to see how great he is in this show. He knew he had done a good job, we all told him this when we were at filming, but watching it back, wow.”
She added: “You’re a star Liam, you always were and always will be. There are a range of emotions I felt watching this, but one of the main ones is immeasurable pride, always. Miss you more every day.”
