Rita Ora breaks down in tears on stage during emotional tribute to Liam Payne

17 October 2024, 16:45 | Updated: 17 October 2024, 16:47

By Alice Dear

Rita Ora performed her hit song For You, which she recorded with the late Liam Payne, on stage in Japan 12 hours after the tragic news of the One Direction member's death broke.

Rita Ora, 33, broke down in tears while performing on stage in Japan while paying tribute to her friend Liam Payne who died on Wednesday in Argentina.

Liam, who was 31-years-old, died after falling from a third floor balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires, leaving his fans and the celebrity world reeling from the shocking news.

As his family break their silence on their tragic loss in a heartbreaking statement, Rita has taken to the stage to perform her and Liam's hit song For You in an emotional tribute.

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In videos shared from the concert in Osaka, Japan, Rita can be seen asking fans to sing the words to the song before turning away from the crowd and shaking her head, appearing to be in tears.

She looks extremely emotional as she sit down on the stage and declares: "I can't even sing this right now," while a picture of her and Liam appears on the screens.

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Rita Ora and Liam Payne teamed up for the hit song For You in 2018 for the film Fifty Shades Freed, appearing in the music video with one another.

This comes as Rita released a tribute to Liam, writing on her social media: "I’m devastated. He had the kindest soul, I will never forget. I loved working with him so much - he was just such a joy to be around on and off stage. This tragic news breaks my heart."

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She added: "Sending all my love and prayers to his family and loved ones. Our song For You takes on a whole new meaning for me now. R.I.P."

Rita is among many famous faces who have been sharing tributes to Liam following his tragic death, including Olly Murs who posted: "This news is devastating, am lost for words 😣 we always had a good laugh when we saw each other, sometimes the catch ups were only short and sweet but when we did it was mostly about how annoyingly good his hair always looked, or our love for Becks, the old XF days and the tour we shared together.

"Liam shared the same passions as me, the same dreams so to see his life now end so young hits hard, I’m truly gutted and devastated for his Family and of course his son Bear losing a dad x am thinking of them! RIP Liam 🙏🏻😣"

While none of the One Direction boys have commented yet, Zayn Malik's sister Waliyha Malik wrote on Instagram: "Literally heartbroken. I have no words" while One Direction's hairstylist Lou Teesdale posted: "I hope you're all ok."

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