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The 2025 Grammy Awards on Sunday (February 2) was a night filled with incredible performances, must-see moments and eye-popping fashion, but the show also featured an emotional segment dedicated to the artists and music legends that the world lost over the last year, including a touching tribute to Liam Payne.
The Recording Academy started off the In Memoriam montage with a special video highlighting various clips of the late One Direction singer and his bandmates performing over the years before sharing a video of Payne expressing his disbelief over the boyband's success, per Page Six.
"We never expected any of this to happen," Payne said. "If you actually sit and think about it, we've done some amazing things."
The tribute ended with a photo of Payne smiling before Coldplay's Chris Martin performed his band's song "All My Love" with a string quartet as the Grammys honored more artists and industry professionals who died last year, such as Kris Kristofferson, Toby Keith, Rich Homie Quan, Fatman Scoop and many more. Legendary producer Quincy Jones was also honored earlier in the night with a star-studded tribute from artists like Stevie Wonder, Janelle Monáe and Lainey Wilson.
Payne tragically passed away on October 16, 2024, at the age of 31 when he fell from a third-story hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, while reportedly under the influence. In January, a 21-year-old hotel worker accused of delivering drugs to Payne was arrested after surrendering to Argentinian police.