AJ McLean remembers exactly where he was when hearing the news of Building the Band costar Liam Payne’s death.
“I was literally on a Zoom call with my team,” McLean, 47, told Us Weekly exclusively while promoting their upcoming Netflix show. “My manager told me what had happened, and I was like, ‘Guys, I got to get off the call. I’m sorry. I’ll catch up with you later.’ I just, kind of, sat there.”
McLean said he “called [his] sponsor” first before attempting to get in touch with fellow Building the Band costars Kelly Rowland and Nicole Scherzinger.
“All three of us kind of banded together and kind of talked to each other,” he continued. “We were kind of being support for each other.”
Payne died in October 2024 at age 31 in Buenos Aires after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony. He’s set to appear alongside McLean, Rowland, 44, and Scherzinger, 47, as a Building the Band judge. The upcoming competition series will premiere via Netflix later this month.
McLean told Us that the show will allow fans of the late One Direction singer to “truly remember him the way that he really, really was.”
AJ McLean Texted Liam Payne the Day Before His Death
The Backstreet Boys singer also remembered Payne as an “absolute sweetheart,” noting that they had only crossed paths professionally before Building the Band.
“I had seen Liam in passing at different things, but this was, like I said, the most quality time spent together. We’re doing 12-to-14-hour days for five weeks straight, and he was just an absolute dream,” McLean said. “We had very similar wits. He had the [drier] British humor, I had the American humor.”
The singer said it was “inspiring” to hear how Payne spoke with “all these different groups” on the show. (Payne also got his musical start as part of a musical group formed on a reality competition series.)
“He was so well-read, articulate and very supportive and positive,” McLean continued of Payne. “He would, obviously, find a way to be — I don’t want to say stern — but get his point across in a very constructive manner.”
On a more personal level, McLean said that he and Payne bonded over their “highs and lows” with sobriety. (McLean has been sober for more than two years.)
“I felt like we were almost separated at birth in a sense as artists. He was just an absolute dream to work with, honestly,” McLean gushed. “I still have the very last conversation we ever had. I haven’t deleted it. I won’t.”
Building the Band premieres via Netflix on Wednesday, July 9.
