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Rita Ora got emotional during her concert in Japan when she attempted to sing her duet with Liam Payne just hours after his sudden death.
The 33-year-old singer struggled to get her words out and even walked off the stage at one point while “For You” — the track she recorded with Payne for “Fifty Shades Freed” — played as a photo of them was displayed on the big screen.
Ora started strong, asking fans to put their hands in the air before her emotions got the best of her.
She then sat on the stage while trying to sing a verse, stopping halfway through.
“I can’t even sing this right now,” she told her concertgoers.
In several clips posted to X, formerly Twitter, Ora put her hands to her face while holding back tears. At one point, she walked to the front of the stage, shook her head and appeared to tell fans in the front row, “I’m sorry.”
Ora then took a look at the image of her with Payne on the big screen and walked off the stage.
On Thursday, she broke her silence on the former One Direction singer’s death.
Sharing photos of them over the years, including ones of them recording “For You,” Ora wrote, “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. 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.”
Payne died on Wednesday at 31 after falling from the third-floor balcony of his hotel room at CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Shocking images show his hotel room trashed and littered with traces of a white powder that authorities are testing to confirm if it’s cocaine, La Nacion reported.
The photos also show his smashed television, a half-empty glass of what appeared to be champagne, and foil scattered near the white powder.
The images were verified by official sources connected to the death investigation.
Before his death, eyewitnesses claimed Payne was “acting erratic” in the hotel lobby and had allegedly smashed his computer before having to be carried to his room.
Around 5 p.m., officials received a 911 call about an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” according to Pablo Policicchio, communications director for the Buenos Aires Security Ministry.
Policicchio claimed Payne “had jumped from the balcony of his room.” The One Direction alum’s body was found on the ground floor allegedly with “a bottle of whiskey, a lighter and a cellphone.”
Payne fractured his skull and died instantly of “very serious injuries,” medical officials confirmed on Thursday.
The autopsy concluded his official cause of death was “polytrauma, internal and external hemorrhage,” but internal and external hemorrhages in the skull, thorax, abdomen and limbs “contributed to the mechanism of death,” according to the report.
The position of Payne’s body and his injuries reportedly showed he “did not adopt a reflex posture to protect himself” and that he could have “fallen while in a state of semi or total unconsciousness.”
A top medic revealed there was nothing they could do to save Payne’s life.
“Our role was to head there quickly, give medical attention, and try to resuscitate him, but his injuries were incompatible with life,” the medic said, according to La Nacion.
“Based on what the team saw, there was apparently a cranial fracture and extremely serious injuries that led to his immediate death,” he continued, adding, “The team could do absolutely nothing.”
Payne had been in Argentina since earlier this month with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, 25. They even went to his former bandmate Niall Horan’s Buenos Aires concert on Oct. 2.
Cassidy fled South America with him on Monday, just two days before Payne’s death. She documented her return home to the States, revealing she was “relieved” to be back in Florida after their planned 5-day trip turned into two weeks.
She has not addressed Payne’s passing.
The singer left behind one child — son Bear, 7, whom he shared with his ex-girlfriend, Cheryl Cole, 41.
The pair met in 2010 when he was a contestant on “The X Factor” and she was a judge. Payne and Cole started dating in 2016. They broke up in 2018.
“Cheryl and I are sad to announce that we are going our separate ways. It’s been a tough decision for us to make,” Payne said on social media.
“We still have so much love for each other as a family. Bear is our world and we ask that you respect his privacy as we navigate our way through this together.”
Payne rose to stardom alongside his One Direction bandmates — Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles — after “X Factor,” with the help of Simon Cowell.
The boy band is one of the highest-selling boy bands of all time, having sold 70 million records worldwide, with songs like “What Makes You Beautiful,” “Best Song Ever,” “Story Of My Life,” and more.
Malik left the group in 2015 to pursue a solo career. Despite telling fans they weren’t breaking up, One Direction went on an indefinite hiatus the following year.