Singer Zayn Malik has announced he is postponing his upcoming tour dates following the death of his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne.
The 31-year-old posted on X on Saturday: “Given the heartbreaking loss experienced this week, I have made the decision to postpone the US leg of the STAIRWAY TO THE SKY tour.
“The dates are being rescheduled for January and I will post them as soon as everything is ready in the next few days. Your tickets will remain valid for the new dates. I love you all and thank you for your understanding.’
Payne died after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Wednesday.
Malik was about to kick off the US leg of his tour and was due to perform in San Francisco on Wednesday.
Although the star said the seven US shows would take place in January, he did not comment on the UK run – starting in Edinburgh on November 20.
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Malik quit One Direction midway through their 2015 tour – before the remaining four stars split the following year.
Paying tribute to Payne, 31, in an Instagram post earlier this week he said that despite being known to ‘butt heads’, he ‘secretly respects’ his bandmate.
“Liam, I found myself talking out loud to you hoping you heard me, I can’t help but selfishly think there are so many more conversations we should have had in our lives,” he wrote.
He added that he “never got to thank” his friend for “supporting me through some of the hardest times of my life”.
“When I was homesick as a 17-year-old, you were always there with a positive outlook and a reassuring smile, letting me know that you were my friend and that I was loved,” he said.
Payne’s father Geoff arrived in Buenos Aires on Friday to arrange for his son’s body to be returned to the UK.
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Liam Payne’s father reads the stands in Argentina
He was seen outside the Casa Sur hotel where the singer died, reading tributes and looking at flowers left by fans.
Argentine officials said Payne visited the Buenos Aires morgue to identify his son before meeting with local prosecutors.
Local media reported that he is also expected to pick up some of Payne’s belongings during the visit.
Tributes poured in from Payne’s other former colleagues this week – Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson, as well as their former manager Simon Cowell.
