Payne was more than just a singerpublished at 00:10 British Summer Time
Mark Savage
BBC music correspondent
Liam
auditioned twice for X Factor – making it through on his second attempt in
2010, after performing Michael Buble’s version of Cry Me A River.
He
ended up being absorbed into One Direction, where he discovered a latent talent
for songwriting. He had writing credits on half of the band’s final two albums,
on songs like History, Steal My Girl and Story Of My Life.
When
he launched a solo career, he took the opportunity to collaborate with
some of pop’s biggest writers, including Ed Sheeran, Charlie Puth and Ryan
Tedder of OneRepublic.
“Writing
for One Direction was a different process because you knew what the kids
wanted,” he told the BBC.
“I
love those songs – don’t get me wrong – but I knew why I was writing them and I
knew what I was writing them for.”
On
his solo material, he often avoided writing love songs, delving into more
mature topics like depression, sex and heartbreak.
“I’m
an absolute expert on heartbreak, it would seem,” he said. “I think,
for me, it was easier to write from a sad place, because the feelings were a
little bit more raw.”