If you’ve been watching Netflix’s Building the Band, which features the late Liam Payne, you have likely felt a wide range of emotions. The reality competition, which paid tribute to the One Direction member, was released on the 2025 TV schedule months after his death. So, watching him mentor the singers is both incredibly joyful and tragic. Now, one of his colleagues, Nicole Scherzinger, has emotionally opened up about why she was so “excited” for fans to see Payne on this series.
When Scherzinger was asked about working with Payne, first, she brought up the fact that she was on the X Factor panel that brought One Direction together. So, for both her and him, this was a “full-circle” moment for many reasons. She then got choked up talking about watching this new series, and Willie Geist chimed in, saying that the 1D member is very “joyful” in it. That led the Tony winner to say the following on Sunday Today:
I'm so excited for people to see the show because Liam just shines in the show. He's just a natural, beautiful, bright light. Anyone who knows him, he has a very kind, giving heart. And he gets to give back.
Much like Niall Horan’s tenure as a coach on The Voice, which he’s returning to for the season about to air on the 2025 TV schedule, Payne was able to use his own experience from X Factor and his career to help and encourage the contestants on Building the Band.
Scherzinger made that point abundantly clear, too, saying that because Payne has been through this process the contestants are going through, he’s “able to give really good advice from a very personal place.” Over the course of her answer, she also made it very clear how bright her co-star shone on this show. She truly had nothing but incredibly kind and complimentary things to say about him.
After that, Geist brought up how dark the situation surrounding Payne’s death was. He was only 31 when he passed, and he died after falling from a third-floor balcony in Argentina. Pink cocaine and other substances were also found in his bloodstream and hotel room after his death, and there was a big investigation into what exactly happened.
Amid all that, AJ McLean, who also worked with Payne and Scherzinger on this Netflix series, opened up about bonding with the singer about sobriety. He noted how hard that could be, and also explained that he hoped people remembered his colleague for his “massive heart” and “massive talent.”
That’s the point Nicole Scherzinger made here, too, saying:
Everyone's complicated. It's called humans. It's the human spirit and soul. I could only just pray for people to be more compassionate and understanding, because everybody at some point in their life, if not right now, is going through something, and you just never know. Liam was in a great place when we did the show, and we had a great time with him.
As folks have been watching Building the Band with their Netflix subscription, they’ve been gushing about Payne’s role in it. For example, there’s a clip of him singing “What Makes You Beautiful” with the crowd that has well over a million views, and has left many smiling and crying:
While filming Building the Band, Liam Payne joined fans in the crowd between performances to dance along to “What Makes You Beautiful” ❤️ pic.twitter.com/eoZqcwxZHVJuly 22, 2025
Overall, both Scherzinger and fans have been moved by Liam Payne and his work in Building the Band, and it’s wonderful to see him being so happy, supportive and thoughtful on the series.
While his death was tragic, unexpected and complex, this series has shown us a much more joyful side of his legacy that we’ll remember forever.
