I was a Noughties pop star who toured with Liam Payne… we were both ruthlessly moulded into ‘perfect’ X Factor icons
Share:
SAT on the tour bus, Liam Payne revealed he’d failed yet another solo X Factor audition - before with a twinkle in his eye, adding: “But they put me through in a band”. In a few months, the sheepish young man would reach near-unparalleled superstardom as one-fifth of arguably the biggest boyband the world has ever known.
![[Sean Smith and sister Sarah were in the X Factor group Same Difference]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/x-factor-group-difference-sean-570284_fcbd64.jpg?strip=all&w=721)
In the six years after One Direction finished third on The X Factor in 2010, the group sold more than 200 million records and were streamed 21 billion times. While the band split in 2016, fans remained fiercely loyal up to the tragic passing of Liam, who died aged 31 after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Palermo, Argentina, two months ago.
![[Liam Payne sold more than 200 million records with One Direction]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/liam-payne-niall-horan-zayn-941279348.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The news has led many to reevaluate the pressures facing young popstars who are thrown into the spotlight, often without support, and endure demanding schedules that push some to the brink. One person who knows this all too well is the late singer’s pal Sean Smith, of X Factor pop duo Same Difference, who Liam supported as a warm-up act before finding fame and confided in about being put together in One Direction.
![[Sean and Sarah knew Liam before he became famous - he even supported them on tour]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/sean-smith-liam-payne-collect-956535613.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
In an exclusive interview, the 39-year-old admits “drugs are rife in the industry” and many fall into its trappings due to long hours on the road performing around the clock, with little chance of holding down any meaningful relationship. Sean tells us: “You can always say no but I understand why people fall into that world. There were times we were doing our fourth gig of the day.
![[One Direction were estimated to have more than 40 million fans]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/one-direction-film-premier-leicester-26777286.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
