Release of new single featuring Liam Payne postponed: 'We are all still mourning'

The release of a new single featuring Liam Payne, who died earlier this month after falling from his Buenos Aires hotel room, has been postponed, a collaborator said.

US singer and songwriter Sam Pounds said on social media on Tuesday, Oct. 29 that the track, Do No Wrong, would be released on Friday. Nov. 1 as a "blessing to the world."

But later on Tuesday, he said the release would be postponed.

"Even though we all love the song it's not the time yet," he wrote in a post on X.

"We are all still mourning the passing of Liam and I want the family to mourn in peace and in prayer. We will all wait."

The former One Direction member was found dead on Oct. 16 after falling from the balcony of his third-floor room at the Casa Sur Hotel in the Argentinian capital.

His death, aged 31, prompted a global outpouring of grief and condolences from family, former bandmates, fans and others.

Hotel staff had called emergency services twice to report a guest "overwhelmed by drugs and alcohol" who was "destroying" a hotel room. 

Payne had spoken publicly about struggles with substance abuse and coping with fame from an early age.

The musician had collaborated on Do No Wrong with North Carolina singer Pounds prior to his death, with three versions of the song set eventually to be released, including a live mix and a cappella single.

Payne's last solo work, a single called Teardrops, was released in March, with a second album teased at the time.

The day after his death, Pounds posted a montage of tributes to him on Instagram, including a video of Payne in the recording studio for the track.

"I can't believe I'm writing this post. I can't believe you are gone in this way," he wrote. (AFP)