Father of One Direction Star Payne Arrives in Argentina

Tributes to Liam Payne, a former One Direction band member, are seen at the Hard Rock Cafe in Piccadilly Circus, in London, Britain, October 18, 2024. (Reuters)
Tributes to Liam Payne, a former One Direction band member, are seen at the Hard Rock Cafe in Piccadilly Circus, in London, Britain, October 18, 2024. (Reuters)
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Father of One Direction Star Payne Arrives in Argentina

Tributes to Liam Payne, a former One Direction band member, are seen at the Hard Rock Cafe in Piccadilly Circus, in London, Britain, October 18, 2024. (Reuters)
Tributes to Liam Payne, a former One Direction band member, are seen at the Hard Rock Cafe in Piccadilly Circus, in London, Britain, October 18, 2024. (Reuters)

The father of One Direction pop singer Liam Payne, whose death in a fall from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires shocked the music world, arrived in Argentina on Friday, police sources told AFP.

Geoff Payne landed in Buenos Aires at 6:00 am, the source said.

The source did not say whether he would visit the morgue where the body of his son, the 31-year-old member of one of Britain's most successful pop groups of recent years, is being kept pending the results of toxicological tests.

Payne suffered "multiple traumas" and "internal and external hemorrhaging" after falling from the balcony of his room on the third floor of the Casa Sur hotel in central Buenos Aires on Wednesday night, an autopsy found.

The autopsy suggested he had not tried to stop his fall and was in a state of "semi or total unconsciousness" before his death.

The singer, who had spoken publicly about struggles with alcohol and coping with fame from an early age, was alone at the time and appeared to be "going through an episode of substance abuse," prosecutors said.

He was found dead after hotel staff called emergency services twice to report "a guest who is overwhelmed by drugs and alcohol, and destroying his room," according to leaked audio.

Tributes to the singer have been pouring in since Wednesday.

His former One Direction bandmates, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik, said they were "completely devastated" by his death.

Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC also offered their condolences, as did British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Payne was in Argentina to attend a concert by Niall Horan.

Argentine media published photos which they said showed the interior of his hotel room, with white powder on a table next to a piece of aluminum foil and a lighter, and a television with a broken screen.

Fans have left a mound of letters, flowers and pictures of the singer at a makeshift shrine to him outside the hotel in Palermo district.

"I feel like it's a part of adolescence lost," said Lena Duek, 21.



Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce Attend Game 1 of ALCS at Yankee Stadium

Oct 14, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Recording artist Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce watch game one of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Guardians at Yankee Stadium. Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Oct 14, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Recording artist Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce watch game one of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Guardians at Yankee Stadium. Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce Attend Game 1 of ALCS at Yankee Stadium

Oct 14, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Recording artist Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce watch game one of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Guardians at Yankee Stadium. Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Oct 14, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Recording artist Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce watch game one of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Guardians at Yankee Stadium. Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Turns out, Taylor and Travis like to watch a little baseball, too.
Pop superstar Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, were at Yankee Stadium on Monday night for Game 1 of the American League Championship Series between the Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees, The Associated Press reported.
The famous couple sat together in a suite down the right-field line, in the second row above postseason bunting and a flag commemorating the Yankees' 1932 World Series championship.
Kelce, a Westlake, Ohio, native who went to high school in Cleveland Heights, sported a dark baseball cap with the words Midnight Rodeo on it. Swift also wore a hat on a 50-degree night in the Bronx.
Kelce, who turned 35 on Oct. 5, grew up rooting for Kenny Lofton and Cleveland in the 1990s. Kelce threw a wild ceremonial first pitch before the Guardians' season opener last year.
It was the second major sporting event for Swift and Kelce in New York City over the past five-plus weeks. The couple also sat in a box to watch the men's final at the US Open tennis tournament on Sept. 8 in Queens.
Kelce and the Chiefs, the two-time defending Super Bowl champions, had a bye this weekend after opening the season 5-0. Their next game is Sunday at San Francisco, a rematch of last season's Super Bowl.