A tough loss to process': Fans in Singapore

Local fan Desiree Choo will never forget the birthday wish she got from Liam Payne the night One Direction played their only show in Singapore at the National Stadium in 2015.

- Eddino Abdul Hadi

"I held up a sign to show that it's my 23rd birthday, and he acknowledged it when he asked for all the signs to be shown," says the content creator, who ran local fan account 1DirectSG on Twitter, now X.

"It's your birthday, 23 today. Hello, happy birthday, darling," Payne said from the stage.

The English-Irish boy band also comprised Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson.

Ms Choo, now 32, says: "It is definitely a core memory now, and I'm happy that I have something like that with him to look back on." Like other fans around the world, she was devastated when she heard the news of Payne's death. The British singer and songwriter died at the age of 31 after falling from a third-floor hotel room balcony in Buenos Aires on Oct 16.