Harry Styles Performs Unreleased Song for Late One Direction Bandmate Liam Payne
Styles became emotional on stage at his New York concert, dedicating the song 'What Is Enough' to Payne on the second anniversary of his death.
Harry Styles became visibly emotional during his Madison Square Garden concert Friday, debuting an unreleased song written as a tribute to his late One Direction bandmate Liam Payne. The performance marked the second anniversary of Payne's death.
"I feel incredibly lucky to get to play these shows here in New York, and this building means a lot to me," Styles told the crowd before introducing the song. "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."
Payne, who rose to fame with Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik in the globally successful band One Direction, died at age 31 from injuries sustained after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires. His funeral took place on November 20, attended by his former bandmates.
Styles explained that the new song, titled "What Is Enough," was written about two years prior for his friend. 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."
Earlier this year, Styles had spoken about experiencing difficult times and losing friends, acknowledging the fragility of life. "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 said at a gig in Amsterdam.
In a previous interview with DJ Zane Lowe, Styles reflected on 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," he said. Styles added that he struggled with the public nature of grief. "I have such strong feelings around my friend passing away. And then suddenly being aware of a desire from other people of you to convey that in some way, or it means you're not feeling what you're feeling, you know?"
He also spoke about Payne's character, stating, "I saw someone with the kindest heart who just wanted to be great." Styles concluded that the greatest way to honor departed friends is by living life to the fullest.