Liam Payne is seen in new Netflix series Building the Band filmed just months before his tragic death in Buenos Aires that broke hearts around the world
Liam Payne’s grieving parents gave the OK for his final project to be aired on Netflix just nine months after his tragic death for a heartbreaking reason.
Late pop icon Liam Payne’s parents were overwhelmed with emotion and pride seeing their son become a mentor on Netflix’s Building the Band that they wanted the world to watch.
In their grief, dad Geoff and wife Karen gave the green light for Netflix to air the show as they felt “this is how we want everyone to remember Liam.”
Liam’s friend and fellow judge Nicole Scherzinger, said the One Direction singer will “shine” in his final ever project as she revealed how the late star worked overtime to help guide musical wannabes on their journeys to form bands for the streamer.
He felt a kinship to the talent given he had experienced being an auditionee one moment and then within 18 months becoming part of the biggest boy band ever.
Nicole became emotional as she discussed her experiences working with the English star, who died of “polytrauma” after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires last October.
She recalled how Liam sang a One D hit for his audiences and encouraged his fellow judges to perform tunes while on filming breaks.
Doubts were raised over the show moving ahead, but Nicole confessed that Liam’s parents felt his screen work needed to be seen and celebrated.
Nicole said: “Liam meant and means so much to all of us, and we were very obviously sensitive to the whole process. We ultimately left it into his family’s hands and wanted to respect how they felt about everything and how to move forward.
“And his parents were there during the filming. They were amazing. It was so wonderful.
“They were actually kind of sat right next to us through the whole process, and they’ve been with Liam and with us through this entire process.
“So to know that we had their blessing, to know that they were so proud of him on the show, they were like, ‘oh, yes, this is how we want everyone to remember Liam’”
Nicole, who famously put together One Direction on the X Factor series amid pushback from Simon Cowell, said of working with Liam: “I am so thrilled for everyone to see Liam shine on this show.
“I just know that he was in his happy place coming full circle, having started out in a similar situation on a talent reality show, and then having the global success that he has had, and then to be able to give back and to mentor and to help these bands. “I know that he really enjoyed our filming process and being a part of this process.
“I know that he put in the extra hours that he wanted to work with these bands even off screen.
“So when I think about Liam in the show, I’m thrilled for everyone to see his light. And he was amazing. Sometimes he would, I mean, I would be like, wow, ‘you just said that – that was awesome. I wish I said that. ‘
“He was really great at this role. He was giving back, and that’s one of his gifts.
“He was such a kind, caring heart, And like I said, and respect, he had the experience. He grafted with One Direction. He knows exactly what he’s talking about. “
Nicole recalled being sat alongside Liam as a judge was “crazy for me” because: “I still remember the day that I saw Liam auditioning on the X Factor we’re onto something.
‘But they did all the work themselves after that. And he had the global success that he had with One Direction in himself. It was a phenomenon, right? So for him to have achieved that success and then to be coming back and then giving that advice and mentoring these contestants was really cool for me to see.
“I don’t know if someone should write a book. It was really full circle and really, really beautiful.”
Nicole felt that many contestants had connections to her, Liam, with AJ McClean and Kelly Rowland.
‘It was awesome. It was really sweet, Liam, actually, I don’t know if the cameras were on or not, but when the cameras, when we were on a break, he actually sang. What Makes You Beautiful to his fans, because they were all freaking out that he was there. And he just loved it.
‘That was a special memory, and to be a part of that and to witness that,
‘Because the fans would make us do different things in the breaks.I sang, Kelly did something and then Liam talked us all tp put on a full show at concert. It was amazing. “
Nicole reflected on how she and Liam were perfect choices to judge the Netflix series.
“I started out really with a talent reality show and I was just myself. That’s the best advice I could always give is just leave with your heart and bring your balls of steel and let your talent speak for itself.”
Nicole spoke to US shows Access and ET to promote Building The Band.
Nicole, who just won the Tony Award for her portrayal of Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, admitted that a Pussycat Dolls comeback is not being discussed.
It is the 20th anniversary of the band blasting into the charts with their debut hit.
“I can’t say anything right now. I’m still in Norma land, but I don’t think it’s off the table to say who knows what the future holds with the Dolls. “However when asked: “Do you all still keep in touch?”, Nicole played down the group rivalries and reacted: “Not currently.
“But I love the girls, And I guess in a weird way, if social media is keeping in touch when you’re liking and commenting on their socials, I guess that’s probably because everybody’s so busy and half of the girls, they’ve got children and everything and their own family, so they’re super busy.”
Every episode of Building the Band will be streaming on Netflix July 9.