Liam Payne’s sister Ruth begs fans to vote for the late star as he’s nominated for a posthumous iHeartRadio Music Award 15 months on from his death

Liam Payne’s sister is Ruth begging fans to vote for the late star after he was nominated for a posthumous award on Tuesday.

Ruth, said it felt ‘like a glimpse of my old life’ as iHeartMedia and FOX Entertainment announced the nominees for the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards. 

Liam, who tragically passed away in October 2024, is up for Favorite On Screen for his reality TV show Building The Band. 

Building the Band, which also stars AJ McLean, Nicole Scherzinger and Kelly Rowland, aired in July 2025 and was the former One Direction star’s final TV appearance. 

Recorded in the months just before his death, Liam, was a mentor on the Netflix series as he worked overtime to help guide musical wannabes on their journeys to form bands. 

Sharing an update to her Instagram Story, his sister Ruth said she was having problems trying to vote internationally and urged fans do vote on her behalf. 

She wrote: ‘I tried to check it out by voting but I’m not allowed to so if it is real, can you put a vote in from me please. 

‘(Even though Liam will be saying ‘I bet you wanna vote for wicked don’t YOU’). Feels like a glimpse of my old life saying vote for Liam. 

Ruth sadly concluded: ‘Ah mate, how did this happen.’

Liam’s parent’s Geoff and Karen gave the green light for Netflix to air the reality series, because they felt ‘this is how we want everyone to remember Liam.’

The late singer’s friend and fellow judge Nicole Scherzinger, who confessed that the One Direction star would ‘shine’ in his final ever project, told of how his parent’s were overcome with emotion and pride. 

Nicole became emotional on Access Hollywood as she discussed her experiences working with the English star, who died after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires in October 2024.

Doubts were raised over the show moving ahead, but Nicole confessed that Liam’s parents felt his screen work needed to be seen and celebrated.

Nicole said: ‘Liam meant and means so much to all of us, and we were very obviously sensitive to the whole process.’

She continued: ‘We ultimately left it into his family’s hands and wanted to respect how they felt about everything and how to move forward. And his parents were there during the filming.’

‘They were amazing. It was so wonderful. They were actually kind of sat right next to us through the whole process, and they’ve been with Liam and with us through this entire process.’

‘So to know that we had their blessing, to know that they were so proud of him on the show, they were like, ‘oh, yes, this is how we want everyone to remember Liam’.’

Nicole, who famously put together One Direction on the X Factor series amid pushback from Simon Cowell, said of working with Liam: ‘I am so thrilled for everyone to see Liam shine on this show.’

‘I just know that he was in his happy place coming full circle, having started out in a similar situation on a talent reality show, and then having the global success that he has had, and then to be able to give back and to mentor and to help these bands.

‘I know that he really enjoyed our filming process and being a part of this process.’

‘I know that he put in the extra hours that he wanted to work with these bands even off screen.’

‘So when I think about Liam in the show, I’m thrilled for everyone to see his light. And he was amazing. Sometimes he would, I mean, I would be like, wow, ‘you just said that – that was awesome. I wish I said that.’

‘He was really great at this role. He was giving back, and that’s one of his gifts. He was such a kind, caring heart, And like I said, and respect, he had the experience. He grafted with One Direction. He knows exactly what he’s talking about.’

Liam worked overtime to help guide musical wannabes on their journeys to form bands for the streamer.

He felt a kinship to the talent given he had experienced being an auditionee one moment and then within 18 months becoming part of the biggest boy band ever.

Nicole recalled being sat alongside Liam as a judge was ‘crazy for me’ because: ‘I still remember the day that I saw Liam auditioning on the X Factor we’re onto something.’

‘But they did all the work themselves after that. And he had the global success that he had with One Direction in himself. It was a phenomenon, right?

‘So for him to have achieved that success and then to be coming back and then giving that advice and mentoring these contestants was really cool for me to see.’

‘I don’t know if someone should write a book. It was really full circle and really, really beautiful.’