“He Was a Freaking Legend”: AJ McLean Breaks Down Over Liam Payne’s Death, Reveals Painful Truth About Their Bond and Battle with Sobriety

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Backstreet Boys star AJ McLean has opened up about his powerful connection with the late Liam Payne, describing the former One Direction singer as a “freaking legend” and recalling their shared bond over sobriety, fatherhood and life behind the scenes of their Netflix series Building the Band.

McLean and Payne served as mentor-judges on the competition show, which debuts later this month and features aspiring vocalists forming bands without seeing each other in person. The show also stars Nicole Scherzinger and Kelly Rowland, but it was Payne who left the deepest mark on McLean.

Speaking exclusively ahead of the show’s release, McLean told TooFab:

“When you put Liam and I together in the same room, it was kind of remarkable to me how much our lives were parallel, even though there’s such an age gap. We’ve kind of lived very similar paths. That really kind of connected us from jump street.”

The veteran performer recalled how Payne’s openness and warmth brought them close during filming.

“We were kind of in each other’s face for 14 hours a day, for like five weeks, and you’re gonna learn somebody, if they’re open. And he’s very open,” McLean said. “He lit up any room that he walked into and he was just an absolute dream to get to know on a much more personal level.”

McLean and Payne shared a candid rapport built around music and recovery.

“Both had the same kind of witty humour, dry humour and just talking about music, sobriety, talking about life,” said McLean. “He was so kind to everyone. You’ve seen divas before. I’ve seen divas before. There was nothing diva about Liam, at all.”

Payne, who died in October 2024 aged 31, appears in later episodes of the series. The show opens with a tribute from McLean and has already been privately screened by Payne’s family.

“I’m hopeful for all the 1D fans and for his family and for anyone that knew him, that they get to see him the way he truly was – at his best and just the person that everybody truly knew him for,” McLean said.

Recalling the moment he learned of Payne’s death, McLean said he was in a meeting when the news broke.

“My manager messaged me while we were on Zoom… I was like, ‘Guys, I’m sorry. I gotta log off for a minute.’ I took some time and then I called Nicole and I called Kelly and we all kind of cried together and talked and just kind of got it out. It’s sad, it’s horrible.”

Payne’s struggles with addiction have been well documented, and McLean, who is approaching four years of sobriety, said he understood the weight of that battle.

“Hopefully… I’m assuming he’s no longer in pain, because it is a daily struggle. I’m coming up on four years sober. Am I there yet? No… What can I do to be better today? A better father, a better bandmate, a better person? I don’t think that was an issue with Liam. He was so kind.”