Nicole Scherzinger: New music series shows Liam Payne ‘in his element’

The former Pussycat Dolls star Nicole Scherzinger has said the new competition series, Building The Band, shows the late singer Liam Payne “in his element”.

Payne, who was best known for being one of the five former members of One Direction, died aged 31 in October 2024 when he fell from a third floor balcony at a hotel in Argentina.

Prior to his death, he filmed as a guest judge on the Netflix competition series alongside Destiny’s Child singer Kelly Rowland, host AJ McClean, and mentor Scherzinger.

Speaking on The View, American actress and singer, Scherzinger, 47, said her favourite memory of the late singer was his “heart”.

She said: “When you watch the show, you’ll see little glimpses of him after he’s talking, or things where you just catch him off guard and it’s when he smiles.

“He smiles with his eyes. It’s like he’s giving you a hug, like he’s embracing you and holding you.

“Liam just had such a beautiful, beautiful heart. And I’m so happy that people get to remember him and see him in his light and in his element, giving back because he lived it.”

The series has been described as a “music experiment” where 50 singers must form a band without seeing or meeting one another.

Payne was a former member of the pop group, One Direction, which was formed on The X Factor in 2010 with the help of Scherzinger who was a mentor on the series.

The boy band, which consisted of Payne, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles, became one of the biggest pop groups in the world, with five albums and four world tours, until they went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016.

Payne went on to launch his solo career and released his debut solo album LP1 in December 2019.

The album included the songs Polaroid with Lennon Stella and Jonas Blue; Strip That Down featuring Quavo; as well as the track For You, with Rita Ora.