has said that one of his new songs is a tribute to his late bandmate - as he recalled 'going into hiding' to grieve after his sudden death.
Liam tragically died aged just 31 in October 2024, after .
Now Niall has spoken out about the aftermath of his death in a new interview with GQ for their latest Hype feature.
Niall, 32, is back with a new solo album called Dinner Party where one song called End of an Era is about Liam.
'We had it / Pure magic / Remember what it was like / Time passes / So fast and / I couldn't tell you goodbye,' Niall sings in the emotional song as he reminisces on their One Direction days.
In the interview he explained how he 'went into hiding a little bit' after Liam's funeral - which was attended by all of their other bandmates: Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson.
Niall Horan has said that one of his new songs is a tribute to his late bandmate Liam Payne - as he recalled 'going into hiding' to grieve after his sudden death
Liam tragically died aged just 31 in October 2024, after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina (seen with Niall in 2017)
As fans paid tribute around the world, he recalled seeing 'lots of photos and videos and things of us growing up together. And being nostalgic about it straightaway, along with fear and sadness and all the stuff that comes with grief.'
On getting the news of his passing, he added: 'I just remember getting a message, and I was just like, What?... I just didn't think it was real.
'Someone so young, you're not expecting to hear that they've passed, especially someone that you've just seen. I just went back from shock to sadness to anger.'
He also recalled one of his most prominent memories of Liam - saying it was when they shared a room together at X Factor bootcamp.
Niall also spoke about seeing Liam in Argentina shortly before his death and said he 'seemed in good form'.
He added that although they hadn't seen each other for a while when they met they immediately 'fell back into' their familiar friendship.
It comes after Harry revealed the death of Liam prompted him to reevaluate his own life - as he spoke recently while also promoting his new album.
In an interview, the singer, 32, spoke out about Liam's death for the first time and described the pressure he felt about expectations of how he should grieve after Liam died.
Harry appeared on Apple Music's The Zane Lowe Show to talk about his fourth studio album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally and admitted he still struggles to talk about Liam's death.
He said: 'Even the idea of talking about it, I struggle with that a little bit even.
'I think there was a period when he passed away where I really struggled with kind of like acknowledging how strange it is to have people kind of like own part of your grief in a way. I have such strong feelings around my friend passing away.
'And then suddenly being, you know, like aware of there's maybe like a desire from other people of you to convey that in some way, or it means you're not feeling what you're feeling or something, you know?
Now Niall has spoken out about the aftermath of his death in a new interview with GQ for their latest Hype feature
Niall, 32, is back with a new solo album called Dinner Party where one song called End of an Era is about Liam
'We had it / Pure magic / Remember what it was like / Time passes / So fast and / I couldn't tell you goodbye,' Niall sings in the emotional song as he reminisces on their One Direction days
In the interview he explained how he 'went into hiding a little bit' after Liam's funeral - which was attended by all of their other bandmates: Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson
The group announced an indefinite hiatus in 2016, with each member going on to launch a solo career.
Harry immediately found his feet after the collapse of , signing a huge record deal with Columbia – who represented One Direction – in 2016.
His career went from strength to strength with multiple Grammy and Brit awards and his net worth soaring to £175million.
Meanwhile, Liam achieved early commercial success with his debut single but he struggled to maintain the same momentum as his bandmates.
Originally signed to Sony as part of One Direction, Liam penned a deal with Capitol Records, a label owned by Universal, in July 2016 when he launched his solo career at just 22 years old.
*Read the full feature 'Niall Horan Makes Sense of Love, Loss, and Growing Up' by Alyssa Bereznak on GQ.com.
