Singer Zayn postpones US tour after the death of his former bandmate Liam Payne

English singer Zayn Malik on Saturday postponed a planned tour to the U.S. following the death of his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne.

Zayn, as the singer often goes by, said on the social platform X that he made the decision “Given the heartbreaking loss experienced this week.”

He said the dates for the U.S. leg of his “Stairway to the Sky” tour would be rescheduled for January and he would post the new dates within the coming days.

Zayn had gigs scheduled next week in San Francisco and Las Vegas, and the following week in Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and New York.

“Your tickets will remain valid for the new dates,” Zayn wrote. “Love you all and thank you for your understanding.”

Payne, 31, was found dead Wednesday after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires. His death prompted an outpouring of shock and sadness from friends, collaborators and fellow musicians.

Payne's sister Ruth Gibbins was the latest to share her thoughts in an Instagram tribute.

“I don't believe this is happening. Many times have I poured my heart out publicly with pride about Liam but never much about life as his sister," she wrote.

She said her brother was “born with music in his veins” and that what she loved most about him was his ability to make her laugh.

“I don't feel this world was good enough or kind enough to you,” she wrote.

One Direction was the internet's first boy band with a level of fame comparable to Beatlemania. Band members in their teens had to cope with their sudden fame and then navigate a breakup while trying to build solo careers.

The exact circumstances of Payne's death remain unclear although Argentine authorities said there were suspicious elements and drugs were possibly involved. The results of toxicology tests are expected in the coming weeks. Payne had acknowledged struggling with alcoholism, saying in a YouTube video posted in July 2023 that he had been sober for six months after receiving treatment.

FILE - Singer Liam Payne poses for photographers upon arrival at the Global Gift Gala in London, March 7, 2019. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - One Direction's Liam Payne, second from right, poses for a photo with fellow band members Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson at the GQ Men of the Year Awards in London, Sept. 6, 2011. (AP Photo/Jonathan Short, File)

Singer Zayn postpones US tour after the death of his former bandmate Liam Payne

Singer Zayn postpones US tour after the death of his former bandmate Liam Payne

HONOLULU (AP) — A teenager in Hawaii was recovering Friday after spending more than 11 hours clinging to a kayak before being rescued during an overnight ocean search by an off-duty lifeguard and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Kahiau Kawai, 17, had gotten separated from his high school paddling team on Wednesday after capsizing approximately half a mile (0.80 kilometers) south of Honolulu's Sheraton Waikiki Beach Resort. He was on a 20-foot (6-meter) kayak and was not wearing a life jacket, the Coast Guard said.

Kawai's parents in a statement thanked the state, city and federal rescue teams who searched through the night, with a “very special mahalo” to family, friends and the the Honolulu lifeguard who went out on his own to search for the teen.

“Kahiau, who could see rescue teams looking for him, was strong, resilient and brave for 11.5 hours in the dark, and is grateful to be back with his family and friends,” Ka’ala and Kelehua Kawai said in the statement.

The teenager's Kamehameha Schools teammates reported him missing during kayaking practice Wednesday afternoon, the school said in a statement.

At about 4 a.m. Thursday, a Coast Guard airplane crew located the kayak with the teen clinging to it and deployed a flare to mark his position off Waikiki.

Off-duty lifeguard Noland Keaulana, a Polynesian voyager and part of a well-known Native Hawaiian waterman family, had been searching through the night on a boat. The Coast Guard directed him to the flare.

“I was expecting the worst, and then when I seen his head up next to the kayak ... his family is lucky and this kid is strong,” Keaulana said at a news conference Thursday. “I think he was in total shock because he wasn't emotional at all. And I was actually crying my guts out because he was OK."

The boy was treated for injuries and hypothermia and taken to an emergency room. He was in serious but stable condition, the Coast Guard said.

From left, Acting Director of Honolulu Ocean Safety Kurt Lager, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, lifeguard Noland Keaulana, Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Nicholas Iannarone and Honolulu Deputy Fire Chief Jason Samala make shaka gestures as they stand for a photo at a news conference for a rescue of a 17-year-old kayaker in Honolulu on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (Jennifer Nilson/U.S. Coast Guard via AP)