Godwin Obaje‘Beautiful, Beautiful Music’: AJ McLean Reflects on Liam Payne’s Unreleased Work Before Tragic Death
AJ McLean has opened up about the unreleased music Liam Payne shared with him before his tragic passing in October 2024, describing the late star’s work as “beautiful” and filled with emotional depth.
Speaking in a recent interview, the Backstreet Boys member — who spent time with Payne while filming the upcoming Netflix talent series Building the Band — reflected on the close bond they developed during production. McLean revealed that Payne had privately shared a body of work with him for feedback, trusting his fellow boyband alum’s perspective.
“He was just an absolute sweetheart, witty, funny,” McLean recalled. “He sent me an unreleased body of work to get my opinion on it — and I never put that out there. I thought that was really sweet that he would entrust someone that he’s still learning about to give their opinion.”
“I thought it was a great body of work. And I hope that the world and that the fans get to hear it somewhere down the road. It’s beautiful, beautiful music.”
The pair’s connection grew stronger while working long filming hours for Building the Band, which will now serve as Payne’s first posthumous appearance. The show premieres on Netflix this month, launching with four episodes on 9 July, followed by subsequent releases on 16 and 23 July. Netflix had initially paused production following Payne’s death.
“I had known him prior to the show, but not as close as we got,” McLean said. “Obviously, we’re with each other 12 to 14 hour days for about five weeks, you do learn a lot about someone.”
Earlier this year, McLean told Rolling Stone he “immediately connected” with Payne “on not only a music level but a human level.” He added: “We both were living a parallel life. There was a lot of funny boy-band jabs that we would take at each other. He really had a quick wit to him — that nice, dry, British humor.”
Describing Payne as “well spoken, very supportive, rigorously honest, in a compassionate way,” McLean said the late artist “always spoke from the heart.”
Before his death at the age of 31, Payne had released “Teardrops” in March 2024 — the final single before his passing. The track was expected to feature on his long-awaited second album and included collaboration with ‘NSYNC’s JC Chasez.
“This album literally is that whole last year for me,” Payne said at the time. “How I was feeling on those days is each record. It was a snapshot of that day… That’s really what I want to get across in this record.”
Following the release of the series trailer, Payne’s sister Ruth Gibbins shared her pride in his work. “He knew he had done a good job, we all told him this when we were at filming,” she wrote on Instagram. “But watching it back, wow.”
“You’re a star Liam, you always were and always will be.”
Godwin Obaje
