Simon Cowell has recalled the ‘awful’ moment he was told Liam Payne had died and admitted how he desperately tried to contact the singer’s parents.
The X Factor boss, 66, said he was left reeling in shock and while ‘not thinking clearly’ just wanted to ‘reach out to his mum and dad as a parent.’
Liam died in Buenos Aires after falling from a third floor balcony at the Casa Sur Palmero Hotel on October 16, 2024.
Speaking on The Interview podcast from The New York Times, Simon recalled hearing about his death.
He said: ‘Someone who I worked with, very closely came into my room and I could tell from the look on her face that she was upset, then she told me.
‘It was a bit like, when I heard the news that my dad had passed away. It’s very difficult to put into words how you feel, other than just a shock.’
Simon Cowell has recalled the ‘awful’ moment he was told Liam Payne had died and admitted how he desperately tried to contact the singer’s parents
The X Factor boss, said he was left reeling in shock and while ‘not thinking clearly’ just wanted to ‘reach out to his mum and dad as a parent’ (pictured in 2010)
Simon continued: ‘I wasn’t thinking clearly and I just remember saying “I really need to speak to his mum and dad, can you get them on the phone.”
‘As a parent, you know what that must have felt like. I knew his mum and dad and I just wanted to reach out in that moment. It was just awful.’
Simon recalled how one year prior he had seen Liam in that very same room and said that the singer was ‘in a really good place’ when he saw him but he still questions if he could have done more to help.
‘He looked great, he had been going to the gym and we talked about his son and said there was more to life than just music. We just hung out as friends,’ he added.
‘There was stuff I would have never have spoken about then that was private. Advice I tried to give him about what comes with fame.
‘When you sign an artist my role is get them with the right production team and managers and make them successful.
‘I had about 20 artists on my books at the time, it’s a bit like they leave the nest, you always say you are available as and when but you can’t follow them everywhere.
‘If I could go back in time to that one day that he was in my house… you always think about things like that. “What if I’d said this, what if I’d said that” but there’s only so much you can do. You just hope that they are successful and happy.’
‘It was a bit like, when I heard the news that my dad had passed away. It’s very difficult to put into words how you feel, other than just a shock,’ he explained
Simon added: ‘If I could go back in time to that one day that he was in my house… you always think about things like that… but there’s only so much you can do’ (pictured in 2018)
Simon added: ‘We made these shows because I understood that there is always someone out there waiting to be discovered.
‘I don’t honestly know what is harder, trying to be famous or managing your fame. I can say this about myself, I made my own choices. It comes with pressure and stress but that is what I signed up for. I would do it all over again.’
Simon met Liam when he auditioned for X Factor for the very first time at the age of 14.
And upon learning of his death, Simon released a touching tribute to the ‘kind, funny and talented’, pop star, who ‘never forgot the fans’.
He wrote: ‘Liam, I am truly devastated. Heartbroken. And I feel empty. And I want you to know how much love and respect I have for you. Every tear I have shed is a memory of you.
‘This is so difficult to put in words right now. I went outside today, and I thought about so many times we had together.
‘I wanted to let you know what I would always say to the thousands of people who would always ask me.
‘What is Liam like? And I would tell them you were kind, funny, sweet, thoughtful, talented, humble, focused. And how much you loved music. And how much love you genuinely had for the fans.
‘I had to tell you when you were 14 that this wasn’t your time. And we both made a promise that we would meet again.
‘A lot of people would have given up. You didn’t. You came back and within months the whole world knew Liam.
Simon said that the singer was ‘in a really good place’ when he saw him but he still questions if he could have done more to help him (pictured at the 2017 BRIT Awards)
He continued: ‘And you never forgot the fans. I watched you spending so much time with people who had wanted to meet you. You really cared.
‘You came to see me last year. Not for a meeting. Just to sit and talk. And we reminisced about all of the fun times we had together.
‘And how proud you were to be a Dad. After you left, I was reminded that you were still the sweet, kind boy I met all of those years ago.
‘I have met your son, Bear. He has your smile and that twinkle in his eyes you have.
Simon was later seen hugging Liam’s parents Geoff and Karen as he sought to comfort them following their son’s funeral.
