Zayn Malik: Emotional tribute to Liam Payne at concert

On Saturday evening (November 23rd), Zayn Malik (31) was back on stage for the first time since the sudden death of his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne (1993-2024) and a few days after his funeral. At the end of the first concert of his “Stairway to the Sky” tour in Leeds, England, the singer remembered his friend with an emotional tribute.

While most of the concert proceeded normally, at the end of the show a light flashed behind the stage with the words “Liam Payne, 1993, Love you bro” and a red heart emoji, while Malik’s song “Stardust” played with lyrics like “It feels “It feels like stardust floating all around us and shooting across a big black sky.” Fans can be heard sobbing or crying in the background.

Liam Payne died on October 16 at the age of 31 after falling from a third-floor balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After the death of his former bandmate, Zayn Malik postponed his October and November concerts in North America to January 2025. “Due to the heartbreaking loss this week, I have decided to postpone the US leg of the ‘Stairway to the Sky’ tour,” said a statement on Instagram. “I love you all and thank you for your understanding.”

Malik was also at Payne’s funeral last Wednesday (November 20) in Wolverhampton along with the other One Direction stars Harry Styles (30), Niall Horan (31) and Louis Tomlinson (32). He wrote on Instagram on October 17 that he had lost a “brother” and could “not explain what I would give to hug you one last time and say goodbye to you properly and tell you that I loved you very much and respected”.