Tonight’s Grammy Awards will feature a tribute to the late Liam Payne, and his producer friend shared that it was ‘devastating’ to put the In Memoriam section together
Grammys producer Ben Winston struggled when putting together the In Memoriam section, which will include Liam Payne.
Ben was a close friend of Liam, 31, and worked with One Direction on music videos for Night Changes, You & I and Midnight Memories among others – and he admitted it was devastating to pick out clips of Liam to include among other musicians who died over the past year.
Speaking about tonight’s show, which will be held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Ben told The Sun on Sunday’s Bizarre column: “It is a very difficult time. Losing Liam was very, very tough. No doubt about it. But, no, there will be no One Direction performance.
“He was the most beautiful, wonderful boy and I love him very, very much. He is in, of course, our ‘in memoriam’, without question. And actually that is a very sad thing for me — when you are going through rehearsals and seeing the clips and a guy that was sat in this office four weeks before that tragedy happened.
He added: “Seeing him up on that screen is not something that I would ever have imagined. It is extra sad for people — not just me who loved Liam, but for many.”
Liam died at the age of just 31 on the 16th October last year, after falling from a third-floor balcony at the CasaSur hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After weeks of investigations, his father, Geoff, was able to bring his body back to the UK, and he was finally laid to rest in Amersham on November 20.
While Ben revealed that there won’t be a One Direction performance at tonight’s ceremony, an insider suggested that the remaining members of the band – Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan – could come together again for a performance in tribute to Liam at the BRIT Awards, which are taking place on March 1.
A source told The Sun: “The tribute to Liam at this year’s awards show has caused a real buzz and speculation that the remaining One Direction bandmates could finally come back together again on stage. It would be an entirely fitting way to honour Liam and talks are already under way about how to make this segment of the BRITs unforgettable.”
The source added that the One Direction alums would not be alone and that other musicians may be involved in the tribute. The band has scooped seven awards at the BRITs over the years, since they were formed on The X Factor in 2010.
According to a show insider, Liam “loved” the event and it was suggested that he will “forever be part of the show’s history.”
The insider continued: “It’s still in the very early stages of preparation and the finer details are still being worked out, with official approaches to be made in coming weeks. But there are set to be a mixture of performances, tasteful photo and video montages and a live orchestra.”
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