Although he was less extroverted than his bandmates, his impressive vocals made him a cornerstone of the era’s defining boyband. So why did he struggle to accept his own greatness?Liam Payne was just getting started. His death is a heartbreaking endAt One Direction’s first audition together on The X Factor in 2010, Liam Payne – who died yesterday – is given the opening line. Singing Natalie Imbruglia’s Torn to Simon Cowell and Sinitta, Payne is only 16 yet has seemingly absorbed decades of pop stagecraft. It’s a difficult opening verse to sell to the judges – downbeat and low-register – but Payne nails it. Rippling vibrato denotes his trembling heart and matinee-idol acting sells the line “she showed me what it was to cry” as he glances off to one side as if slapped by the pai...
