Ed Sheeran pens heartfelt tribute to late “One Direction” star Liam Payne

• Ed Sheeran, a close friend of Liam Payne, shared an emotional post on Instagram.
• The post, featuring a black-and-white picture of Payne smiling, expressed his thoughts for his family.
• Fans offered condolences, with many sharing the broken red heart emoji.

Fans of Liam Payne around the world, along with other celebrities, are mourning his sudden death, and Ed Sheeran is among them. The musician shared a heartfelt and emotional post dedicated to the late singer.

The “Galway Girl” vocalist shared the post on Instagram on Friday, October 18. The post featured a black-and-white picture of Payne smiling. In the caption, Sheeran expressed his thoughts for Payne’s loved ones and family.

The singer wrote, “At a loss for words. My thoughts are with his family and loved ones, every memory I have with him is a great one, just such a heartbreaking situation. Be kind. X.”

His fans offered their condolences in the comments section of the post, with many sharing the broken red heart emoji to express their sadness over the news. One person wrote, “Sorry to hear about your loss! Sending love and prayers.”

Before sharing a post to remember the “Bedroom Floor” vocalist, the “Perfect” singer posted One Direction’s official statement about Payne’s death on his stories, along with a red heart emoji.

The two musicians appeared to be close friends, sharing both a personal bond and professional collaborations. According to the news, Sheeran wrote four tracks for the band, including their song “Little Things.” When the band members parted ways, he and the late vocalist collaborated to write Payne’s first viral solo song, “Strip That Down,” which became a major success.

The late singer never shied away from praising Sheeran. On Nick Grimshaw’s Radio 1 show, he expressed that he felt “blessed and honored” that Sheeran wanted to write a track for him. He conveyed his sincere gratitude while discussing Sheeran.

In a 2017 interview with Z100, he referred to the *Shivers* singer as one of the “nicest” people.

Payne then shared a funny story about Sheeran’s quirky nature. He revealed that he, Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, and his parents once all found themselves in an elevator together.

He said, “This is a random story. It was a party we had just done a gig for and he joined us on stage.” Then when they all went in the lift, “he just kept going turning around to me, “Bass.” And that’s all he was saying. “Bass.” So that’s one of my favorite party stories.’”

Along with Sheeran, many other celebrities reflected on their memories with the late singer. One Direction members, including Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, and Niall Horan, also shared their tribute posts. Authorities found the singer outside a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on October 16, 2024. He was just 31 years old.