“This week in particular, I’ve been thinking just how precious life is,” Rogers said during her Boston show on Oct. 17
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Maggie Rogers is honoring Liam Payne and “anyone who has been touched” by One Direction‘s music.
The Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, 30, surprised fans at her Don’t Forget Me Tour stop at Boston’s TD Garden on Thursday, Oct. 17 with a heartfelt cover of the boyband’s hit “Night Changes” — just a day after Payne died at age 31 following a fall at his Buenos Aires, Argentina hotel.
Before her piano rendition of the song, which served as a single off One Direction’s 2014 album Four, Rogers shared a special message with her fans about loss.
“This week in particular, I’ve been thinking just how precious life is and how quickly things can change,” Rogers said in a fan-recorded clip of the on-stage moment. “I was getting ready to go to dinner last night with one of my oldest friends, Claire… and she walked into my room and told me Liam Payne had died.”
“We’re just about the same age,” she added. “Any time a public figure, especially a musical peer, slips off, it’s really present. And I’ve been sending a bunch of love to my friends and my band in the last couple of days — last couple of hours. I wanted to just honor anyone who has been touched by that music or those songs.”v
Payne’s bandmates Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson released a joint statement on Thursday, sharing that they were “completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing.”
“In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say,” they wrote. “But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly.”
The statement ended: “The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever. For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us. We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam.”