The 46-year-old singer wrote an emotional caption on Instagram in memory of Payne, who died on October 16 after falling from a balcony at the CasaSur Palermo hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. According to ABC, sources have confirmed that a partial autopsy found that the star "had multiple substances in her system."
Along with Simon Cowell, Scherzinger is credited with creating Payne's boy band One Direction on the 2010 season of The X Factor.
"Dear Liam, I will forever cherish and cherish the time we shared together, from fifteen years ago when One Direction was born to a few weeks ago," Scherzinger wrote under two photos of her, Payne and Kelly Rowland, 43.
"It was such a blessing to work with you recently. We shared the same love and passion for music and I will forever remember the meaningful and joyful conversations we had. It was so hard for me to process the fact that you are no longer here, but I am grateful that i knew your kind heart, sweet soul and character. you brought so much joy and light and laughter to those who really knew you. you will be missed my friend and my thoughts and prayers are with the your family ," the former Pussycat Dolls star continued.
In August, it was announced that Scherzinger, Rowland and Payne would star alongside AJ McLean in the new Netflix series Building the Band.
It was reported that Scherzinger would serve as mentor and judge, with Payne and Rowland serving as judges.
Scherzinger's tribute comes after composer Andrew Lloyd Webber revealed in an interview with Billboard that the singer had been writing with Payne on the day of his death.
"I guess one thing that hasn't been said, and I guess I could say, is that of course she mentored Liam from One Direction," said Webber, who composed the score for Scherzinger's Broadway musical Sunset Blvd.".
"On Wednesday (October 16) when he died, she was still texting him that day, and by the evening when the SUNSET reviewers came, she had just heard that he had died. And the fact that at all did the show, is outstanding. I mean, she's an amazing, amazing woman. She's without a doubt one of the best performers I've ever worked with," he added. | BGNES
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