Simon Cowell was in the middle of filming his new Netflix docuseries when Liam Payne tragically died.
Simon Cowell: The Next Act, which began streaming on Wednesday, December 10, includes footage of the music mogul, 66, breaking down in tears at home and considering canceling the show’s search for a new boy band after he heard about the former One Direction member’s fatal fall from a hotel balcony.
“This completely changes everything,” a visibly emotional Cowell says. “I don’t know if I can do anything for a while.”
In a confessional, Cowell recalls meeting Payne when the singer first auditioned for his U.K. show The X Factor in 2008. Payne was ultimately cut from the competition but returned in 2010 and formed One Direction with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik.
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“I remember thinking what a sweet, humble boy,” Cowell shares. “He was just so normal and down-to-earth. He always had a sparkle in his eye, I remember that, and his face in that [audition]. Everyone adored him.”
Cowell tells the camera that Payne’s death was “hard” for him, adding, “You just don’t know how you feel about someone until you lose them, you know? We’re just gonna miss him, genuinely miss him.”
Later in the series, Cowell acknowledges that “the pressure, the stress that comes with being in a band is gigantic,” which leads him to meet with the hopefuls for his new boy band to have a candid discussion about fame with them and their parents.
“I lost a friend recently, which has been really, really tough. It’s been s***. And there was a moment, I’m not gonna lie, when I first got the news where I’m like, ‘I’m not sure we should do this,’” he begins his speech. “And then I thought about it, and I remembered the conversations we had, with all of you, when I phoned you. And then I made the decision: I want you to have this opportunity.”
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Cowell then opens the floor for questions from the aspiring pop stars and their loved ones, assuring them that nothing is “off-limits.”
After one parent expresses concern about their son entering the spotlight, Cowell assures the group, “They’re going to be looked after. I’ve always prided myself that I do care about people I work with. I mean, genuinely care. And if we’re going to go forward with the boys, it will be with my absolute belief and support.”
Payne died at the age of 31 in October 2024 after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A toxicology report later revealed that the “Strip That Down” singer had cocaine, alcohol and a prescription antidepressant in his system at the time of his death.
Cowell recently told Us Weekly‘s Just Like Us video series that losing Payne was “not far off” from how he felt after the deaths of his parents.
“I’ve lost friends before, but Liam really hit me hard because I really, really had a close bond with him,” he explained. “He came on my show when he was very young. He came back a second time. I’d seen him a year before he’d passed. We’d spent an afternoon together. We just had the best conversation, and we talked about being dads and everything, and he looked amazing on that day. I genuinely don’t know whether [anything I said] would have made a difference. … He didn’t leave with me going, ‘I’m worried about him.’”
Simon Cowell: The Next Act is now streaming on Netflix.
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