Shawn Mendes paused gig for ‘heartbreaking’ tribute to Liam Payne

Canadian singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes paused his concert to pay tribute to the late One Direction singer Liam Payne.

Payne died aged 31 after falling from a third-floor balcony at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires on Wednesday.

Mendes was performing at the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre in New York, US, on Friday, when he told the audience that the news was “devastating”.

He added: “I got to meet Liam a couple of times and he was a beautiful soul and his eyes gleamed, it was beautiful.

“It’s about grieving those we miss, the tears, and it’s also about celebrating them and who they were and what they left in this world and I just want to take a second to send so much love to him wherever he is up there.

“Liam, we love you. The world is crying for you brother, and we’re all praying for your son and your family and I miss you man. So this one’s for you tonight, Liam, from all of us.”

He then performed his new song Heart Of Gold, appearing to dedicate it to Payne, which watching fan Kristal Terrell said: “I can honestly say that there wasn’t a dry eye around me.”

The New Orleans-based producer, 28, told the PA news agency: “The loss of Liam Payne, someone so many of us grew up listening to, is still hard to process.

“Shawn’s tribute performance to him was beautiful.”

One Direction fan Alex, 23, a teacher based in the US, who did not want to give her surname, told the PA news agency: “I’ve been a fan of One Direction since the very beginning, and also a fan of Shawn since before he started releasing music. When I first heard of Liam’s passing, I felt numb.

“This moment at Shawn’s show was the first time I fully felt all of my emotions and I was crying alongside my sister and many other fans in the venue.

“It was heartbreaking, but also so powerful to hear Shawn’s love and to be surrounded by so many others who have lived these experiences with me.”