advertisement
Music News

Liam Payne’s First Posthumous Single to Be Released This Week

The collaboration with Sam Pounds comes just weeks after Payne's sudden passing.

Liam Payne’s First Posthumous Single to Be Released This Week

Liam Payne’s voice will grace the airwaves once again as his first posthumous release, “Do No Wrong,” drops this Friday, Nov. 1.

The single, a collaboration with Grammy-winning producer Sam Pounds, comes just weeks after Payne’s sudden passing, sparking an outpouring of tributes and memories from friends and fans around the world. Pounds announced the release on social media, calling it a tribute to Payne’s spirit and talent and sharing a personal message to Payne’s family and fans.


“I pray that this will be a blessing to the world like Liam has always dreamed,” Pounds wrote on X. “I pray angels will comfort you all every day while listening. I pray that this song will be a blessing to Ruth, Bear, and the entire family,” Pounds wrote.

advertisement

“I pray that this song eclipses the negative echoes. I pray supernatural positive healing power will embrace each and every one of you.”

The release announcement included a video clip from a recent studio session, shared by Payne’s sister, Ruth Gibbons, capturing the two musicians listening to the track together. The clip also shows Pounds and Payne discussing possible collaborators, with a shoutout to Chris Brown, hinting at the project’s ambitions to bring in a high-profile feature.

Pounds has posted multiple tributes to Payne following his death on social media, describing him as a talented artist, devoted father, and friend. “This is how I’ll always remember you, brother,” he shared alongside a video of their time in the studio. “The happy, funny, and talented brother, father, and friend.”

He added that they “made some awesome and beautiful music together that will live on forever.”

Payne, 31, died after falling from a third-floor balcony at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Oct. 16. An autopsy report revealed that he died from a number of injuries, including internal and external bleeding caused by the fall.

advertisement

Liam Payne first rose to fame as a member of the U.K. boyband One Direction, joining fellow members Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson in 2010.

Together, the group achieved massive global success, with four of their albums reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and their final release hitting No. 2. After One Direction went on hiatus in 2016, Payne launched a solo career, debuting with the single “Strip That Down” featuring Quavo, which reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Pop Airplay chart for two weeks in 2017.

His first album, LP1, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart in December 2019. Payne continued to make his mark with singles like “Get Low,” “Bedroom Floor,” and “Familiar,” each charting on various Billboard lists.

This article was originally published by Billboard U.S.

advertisement
Val Blavatnik
Courtesy WMG

Val Blavatnik

Business News

Val Blavatnik to Oversee Warner Music Canada in New Role at Warner Music Group

Blavatnik will oversee Warner Music Canada as managing director of Warner Music North America, U.K. and Corporate Development at WMG. As part of a slew of executive announcements, Simon Robson will be leaving the company, while Alejandro Duque takes the top international role.

Val Blavatnik, the 28-year-old son of Warner Music Group majority owner and vice chairman Len Blavatnik, has been named managing director of Warner Music North America, U.K. and Corporate Development at the Warner Music Group, the company announced Friday (Sept. 25). In his new role the younger Blavatnik, who has held several roles at the company in recent years, and has been a board member since 2023, expects to “unify and drive business and operational strategy across these markets while guiding the company’s investment strategy to support growth,” according to a press release.

The Blavatnik announcement is part of a flurry of new executive announcements that CEO Robert Kyncl made this morning. In addition, Atlantic Music Group chairman/CEO Elliot Grainge will take on ADA in the U.S. as its new chairman, while Alejandro Duque, who has held the dual roles of president of Warner Latin and president of ADA since last July, has been named president of Warner Music International, adding Asia-Pacific and Europe, the Middle East and Africa under his oversight. (Duque will continue to oversee ADA outside the U.S.) Zach Friedman, currently COO at Atlantic Music Group, will add the title of vice chair of ADA U.S. to his resume.

keep readingShow less
advertisement