Tragic story of Liam Payne: Couldn’t find a musical identity, dropped by Capitol Records

Yesterday’s death of Liam Payne – whether accidental or intentional – is a terrible tragedy.

At just 31, Payne – formerly part of the massive pop group One Direction – has had a difficult time since his hugely popular boy band broke up.

Payne watched as Harry Styles, the group’s star, achieved even greater success as a solo artist.

His bandmate Niall Horan has learned to deal with it. He had pushed back expectations but sold records and concert tickets and appeared as a judge on The Voice.

Payne’s only album, “LP 1,” sold just 1.1 million copies in five years, mostly via streaming. Actual physical sales were only 32,000. In the first week of 2019, “LP1” only sold 9,500 copies. The songs were developed by committees of writers and producers.

Like Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson, the other two members of One Direction, Payne was unable to find a musical identity outside of the group. This was obviously frustrating.

Payne signed with Capitol Records, part of Universal Music Group. But his picture no longer appears on the Capitol website. However, Horan’s image is still there as he continues to release records.