Harry Styles Debuts Unreleased Song for Late One Direction Bandmate Liam Payne
Styles performed the track, titled 'What Is Enough,' during his New York residency on the second anniversary of Payne's death.
Harry Styles became emotional on stage Friday night as he debuted an unreleased song written in tribute to his late One Direction bandmate Liam Payne. The performance took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City, marking the second anniversary of Payne's death.
Before introducing the song, Styles, 32, addressed the audience, stating, "I feel incredibly lucky to get to play these shows here in New York, and this building means a lot to me." He continued, "There are so many people in my life, friends and people that I've worked with that I wouldn't have been able to do this without. And two years ago today, I lost one of those friends."
Liam Payne, who rose to fame with Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik in One Direction, died at the age of 31 from injuries sustained in a fall from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires. His funeral was held on Wednesday, November 20, and was attended by all of his former bandmates and the mother of his son, Cheryl.
Styles shared that the new song is titled "What Is Enough." The lyrics include the lines, "I could tell you what it’s like, to bury a friend on a Wednesday night gathered in the garden around a fire."
Styles previously spoke with DJ Zane Lowe about the impact of Payne's death. "It's so difficult to lose a friend. It's difficult to lose any friend, but it's so difficult to lose a friend who is so like you in so many ways," Styles said. He added that he struggled with the public's perception of grief and that he saw Payne as someone with "the kindest heart who just wanted to be great."
"What happened was a really important moment for me in terms of taking a look at my life and being able to say to myself, 'OK, what do I want to do with my life? How do I want to live my life?' And I think the greatest way you can honour your friends who pass away is by living your life to the fullest," Styles reflected.
Earlier this year, during a concert in Amsterdam, Styles spoke about navigating difficult personal times and the loss of friends. "I lost some friends over the last couple of years," he said on stage. "For me having some time to let these big moments happen I have realised how fragile, beautiful, wonderful, hard, gross, inspiring all of the things life can be."
He concluded his New York address by expressing hope for positive energy within the venue: "I hope being in this room together tonight, we can create some good energy together."