Liam Payne’s shattering song from unreleased album emerges in wake of death

The One Direction star left behind an unreleased album, his second piece of solo work, in which he sang about having “no way out”.

Just one week before his untimely death, Liam Payne reportedly shelved plans to release his long-awaited second studio album.

The UK singer, who was 31, put out just one album after going solo nine years ago, before revealing last year he was finally working on new music.

It would never materialise. Payne died in Buenos Aires, Argentina on October 16 after falling from a balcony on the third floor of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel.

According to The Sun, which has purportedly listened to the unreleased music, one song on the album featured Payne singing about having “no way out”.

Liam Payne began recording new music last year.

The outlet claims the lyrics read:

Everyone is talking / I can’t process this now, I got no way out, no way out.

I still got a heavy weight on my back / Wish that I could brush it off just like that.

Speaking to iFL TV in May last year, the father-of-one spoke about writing his most personal songs yet. At the time, he told the network he was 100 days sober, having spent time in a treatment facility the year prior.

“I’ve been making an album for a change, which is quite fun. It’s been good, so I’m excited to bring it out here and I definitely want to tour this time, which is unusual because I wasn’t sure I was gonna tour for a long time,” he said at the time.

“I was kind of over it a little bit. But I’m really excited to get back out on the road and go and see all the fans.”

Payne embarked on a solo career after best-selling boy band One Direction went their separate ways in 2015, a journey the star admitted several times was fraught with mental challenges.

Members of One Direction Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Harry Styles each forged solo careers, disbanding the band in 2015. Picture: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

His first crack as a solo artist came with his debut album LP1, which was released in December 2019.

It received mixed to negative critical reviews, peaking at number 17 on the UK Albums Chart, and at number 111 on the US Billboard 200.

There was one song that saw success, with his debut solo single Strip That Down reaching number three on the UK Singles chart, and number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Payne dropped the occasional single in the years since, before confirming he was in the studio recording his long-awaited second album. He assured fans he would have more creative control over the songs than he did on his debut release.

Soon after that announcement, Payne scheduled his first ever solo tour dates for Latin America from September 2023. However, the shows were postponed after he was hospitalised in August with a reported kidney infection.

The tour didn’t eventuate, with Payne instead focusing on his new music. In March 2024, he released the album’s lead single Teardrops, which failed to chart.

The Sun reported several days before Payne’s death that his new album had recently been put “on hold” after the singer parted ways with his manager, Roger, earlier this year.

Payne struggled to find purpose after leaving One Direction. Picture: Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM

“Things are tough for Liam at the moment. His former manager Roger stepped back earlier this year,” a source told the outlet.

“He was a steady hand for Liam and he appears to be struggling without his guidance. Things have started to seem slightly erratic, with plans being made before they are cancelled last minute.

“Liam had been doing really well on his second album but now it’s completely on pause. Liam is telling people now he has no idea if it’ll ever be released.”

According to the publication, the album could potentially be released posthumously by Payne’s former label Capitol Records.

Originally published as Liam Payne’s shattering song from unreleased album emerges in wake of death