Harry Styles is honoring the life of Liam Payne.
Exactly two years after his One Direction bandmate’s tragic death, Styles debuted an emotional ballad titled “What Is Enough” in Payne’s honor during his Oct. 16 concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
“I feel incredibly lucky to get to play these shows here in New York, and this building means a lot to me as I’ve said,” Styles told the crowd during night 23 of his 30-show residency at MSG for his Together, Together tour. “I feel incredibly proud when I get to look up there and see my name up there.”
“There are so many people in my life, friends and people that I’ve worked with, that I wouldn’t have been able to do this without,” he continued. “And two years ago today, I lost one of those friends.”
And staying true to the message behind his world tour, the 32-year-old hopes his fans can lean on each other if they’ve experienced similar losses in their own lives.
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“I’m sure a lot of you have been through similar things. I hope you haven’t. But really, it’s just about looking after each other,” Styles explained. “So many people who have touched my life in such special ways, I wouldn’t be here without. I’m gonna play you a song I wrote for my friend about two years ago, if that’s all right.”
Styles then performed the emotional track, which explores how the “Watermelon Sugar” hitmaker has been working through the loss of his close friend.
“I’m not wise enough but I / Wrote you a letter just to burn it up and watch it rise / Like you’re in the sky,” Styles sang, while another heartbreaking line referenced Payne’s funeral as he continued, “I could tell you what it’s like / To bury friends on Wednesday nights / Gathered in the garden round a fire.”
Payne—who shared 9-year-old son Bearwith ex Cheryl Cole—died in October 2024 after falling from a third-floor balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires. He was 31.
Following his death, Styles shared insight into his grief, telling Zayn Lowe in an Apple Music interview released March 4 that “it’s so difficult to lose a friend.”
“It’s difficult to lose any friend, but it’s so difficult to lose a friend who is so like you in so many ways,” he said. “It’s like, I saw someone with the kindest heart who just wanted to be great.”
That’s why he’ll never stop honoring Payne’s life in the big and small ways.
“It was a really important moment for me in terms of taking a look at my life and being able to say to myself, ‘OK, what do I want to do with my life? How do I want to live my life?’” he continued. “And I think the greatest way you can honor your friends who pass away is by living your life to the fullest.”
Keep reading for a look back at Payne’s life in pictures…
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