Former One Direction member turned solo artist Zayn Malik paid a heartfelt tribute to his former bandmate Liam Payne on the first live performance of his debut tour in Leeds last November 23, 2024.
Payne passed away last October, with his funeral taking place just last week.
Malik marked the start of his new solo tour with an emotional message to the demised 31-year-old via a short message plastered on the screen at the end of his gig.
“Liam Payne 1993-2024. Love you bro,” the tribute appears alongside a red heart after performing ‘Stardust,’ the closing song of his ‘Stairway to the Sky’ tour at the O2 Academy.
Zayn Malik's tribute to Liam Payne at his concert in Leeds tonight. 🤍🕊️ pic.twitter.com/6M2ft26rsx
— Remembering Liam Payne (@updatingljp) November 23, 2024
The singer-songwriter’s performance is his first tour as a solo artist since leaving One Direction nearly 10 years ago.
It is to be recalled that Malik openly shared his battle with stage anxiety, preventing him from performing live.
Fans also supported the hitmaker’s first-ever solo tour and shared heartfelt responses to his tribute to Payne after his first show.
“This is so wholesome but sad at the same time💔,” one social media user from X (formerly known as Twitter) said.
Another X user said, “it’s crazy to think how just a few weeks ago Liam was here and talking about Zayn’s tour and how proud he was of him, and now he’s just gone, and zayn will never get to see him again.”
“I know for a fact Liam would’ve been the first one there to support him, he would not have missed this. he would’ve gotten to meet him and they’d probably have a chance to reconcile after so long, but life has its twisted ways of going and it’s so incredibly unfair,” a third social media user said.
Malik attended Payne’s funeral in Amersham, England, alongside his former One Direction bandmates Harry Styles, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson earlier this week.
Other famous personalities such as Simon Cowell, Adrian Chiles, and Cheryl, the mother of Payne’s seven-year-old son, Bear, joined his family and girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, in the service.
The hitmaker originally scheduled his tour to begin in the US back in October, however, Malik postponed the tour dates in light of his friend’s death.
“Given the heartbreaking loss experienced this week, I’ve made the decision to postpone the US leg of the STAIRWAY TO THE SKY Tour […] Love you all, and thank you for your understanding,” He said in a tweet last month.
Malik is set to hold the US leg of his tour in January.
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