Harry Styles performed an unreleased song he wrote in honor of his late friend and former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne during his concert at Madison Square Garden on Friday.
The singer was performing at MSG as part of his “Together, Together” residency, which runs from Aug. 26 through Oct. 31. Oct. 16 also marked the second anniversary of Payne’s death.
“Being here, I feel incredibly lucky to get to play these shows here in New York. This building means a lot to me, as I said, and I feel incredibly proud when I get to look up there and see my name up there from last year,” he said. “And there are so many people in my life, friends and people that I’ve worked with, that I wouldn’t have been able to do this without. And two years ago today, I lost one of those friends. It’s sad. I’m sure a lot of you have been through similar things. I hope you haven’t.”
“I’m gonna play you a song that I wrote for my friend about two years ago, if that’s all right with you,” he continued. “This is ‘What Is Enough.’”
You can listen yourself in the video below.
Payne died in October 2024 after falling from the balcony of his Buenos Aires hotel. He was 31.
The singer fell from the third-floor balcony of the CasaSur Palermo hotel. The musician died from “multiple traumas” that caused both “internal and external hemorrhage,” according to local reports citing Argentina’s Public Prosecutor’s Office, translated into English using Google Translate. Payne was reportedly in Argentina to see former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan perform in concert, according to The Associated Press and local Argentine media.
The “Teardrops” singer rose to fame alongside Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Horan as part of the boy band One Direction. The group rose to fame in 2010 after finishing third on “The X Factor.”
One Direction scored six top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 before going on hiatus in 2016, with all five members pursuing solo careers. Some of the band’s biggest hits included “What Makes You Beautiful,” “Best Song Ever,” “Drag Me Down” and “Story of My Life.”
Following Payne’s death, Styles, Tomlinson, Malik and Horan issued a joint statement mourning their friend.
“We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing,” they said at the time. “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.”
Their statement continued, “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.”
