Cañada and Skyline College students who are fans of the iconic band, One Direction, grieved over the death of Liam Payne. The 31-year-old singer and songwriter died on Oct. 16 at a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Payne rose to fame at 16 years old, on the show The X Factor. He was grouped with One Direction (1D) members to form a band signed by Simon Cowell’s record label, Syco Records. The group, then, successfully made it to the global stage; moreover, 1D has a huge fan base and popular songs like “What Makes You Beautiful” and “The Story of My Life.”
Sasha Sosinski, a freshman at Skyline College, said she was in disbelief at Payne’s tragic death, especially at such a young age.
“It’s always a tragedy when people pass young, yet to hear that happened; it was shocking,” Sosinski said. “As a lot of people, I had found out from TikTok.”
Sosinski reminisced that as a young teenager, she used to listen to One Direction’s music at school dances or in the car.
“I had never gotten to see him in person, never being a big fan of concerts while growing up,” Sosinski said. “But from every school dance to driving on a hot summer day with the windows down and radio blasting in my pre-teen and young teenage-years, it was always the one artist you heard everywhere.”
She believed that Payne’s music will be played even after his death and will still impact people’s lives.
“I’m sure his music will continue to be played from here onwards, if not more than before,” Sosinski added.
Meanwhile, Karolina Macioce from Cañada College, said she wasn’t sure if her dad was joking when he told her that Payne had died.
“I thought my dad was joking because he jokes around so much,” Macioce said.

Macioce said she had been a fan of Payne since 7 years old; applauding how good Payne was, and recalling some of the fun memories that she and her sister had with his songs.
“My sister and I sang our little hearts out in the car; it was great,” Macioce said.
Additionally, Danielle Fuentes, another freshman from Cañada College said she hasn’t had the chance to see his concerts but remembers listening to him and 1D on the radio or singing their songs at karaoke.
“I didn’t have the opportunity to go to any of his concerts or see them on TV, but I would listen to him and his band on the radio a lot and I mean, I am a person that I love doing karaoke, so I would sing songs as a child too,” Fuentes added.
Payne’s impact was not just on himself, and he will leave a musical journey of many years for his fans to listen to.
“I guess a lot of people will think back to him with his musical, artistic journey,” Fuentes said. “I feel like it’s going to impact generations.”