Niall Horan revealed former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne’s death gave one of his “awful” songs an entirely new meaning.
Reflecting on End of an Era, the Slow Handshitmaker revealed that lyrics to his emotional tribute to late pal came together in just 10 minutes.
Speaking to eTalk, he revealed the bittersweet track from his latest album, Dinner Party, wasn’t originally about Liam at all.
“I had a song called End of an Erathat I’d written. It was god-awful, and it was nothing about that,” Niall shared. However everything changed after the Teardropssinger’s passing in October 2024.
“After his passing, it made me rethink about that title, and then I just started writing again. It took me 10 minutes to write the lyrics because I just knew exactly what I wanted to say,” the Heavensinger stated.
Asked whether revisiting the song was difficult or therapeutic, he admitted it became a healing experience, saying, “It’s kind of like a mixture in the song. It’s a sad song, and it’s nostalgic, and it’s got a bit of both in it.”
The X Factoralum explained that balancing sorrow with happy memories felt true to his experience.
“If it was too much of a downer, it wouldn’t make sense. It’s very sad, but I also have very happy memories,” he added. “I wanted those two emotions to be in there, and I had to feel uplifting as well.”
For the unversed, Niall and Liam, who died in October 2024 at the age of 31 after falling from the balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, first met on The X Factor UKin 2010, where they became members of One Direction alongside Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik.
2026-08-05 11:19:00
