Rita Ora got emotional during her concert in Japan when she attempted to 𝐆sing 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 she tried to perform “For You” — the track she recorded with Payne for “Fifty Shades Freed.”
Ora started strong, asking fans to put their hands in the air before her emotions got the ඣbest of her.
She then sat on the stage while trying to sing a verse, a photo of the two of them displayed on a screeꦇn beh𒈔ind her, and stopped halfway through.
“I can’t even sing this right now,” she told her concertgoers.
In 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 scꦆreen and walked off the stage.
On Thursday, she addressed the former One Direction singer’s death.
Sharing photos of them over the years, including ones of them recording “For You,” , “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 b🌼alcony of his hotel room at CasaSur Palermo in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Shocking images show his hotel room trashed ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚand littered with traces of white powder that authorities are testing, La𒈔 Nacion reported.
The photos also show a smashed television, a half-empty glass of what appears🐭 to be champagne and alumওinum foil scattered near the white powder.
The images were verifie🌠d by official sources connected to the i🌳nvestigation.
Before his death, eyewitnesses claimed Payne was “acting erratic” in the hotel lobby and had allegedly smashed his computer before having to be carriedඣ to his room.
Around 5 p.m., emergency services were called about an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” according to Pablo Policicchio, communications director for Buenos Aires’ Ministry of Security.
Though officials had initially claimed the singer had “ju🍌mped from the balcony of his room,” the autopsy report said he had fallen. Policicchio that investigators are still determining if it was an accident or intentional.
Payne fractured his skull and died instantly of “very serious injuries,” med💧ical officials confirmed on Thursday.
The autopsy concluded his official cause of death was “polytrauma, internal and external hemorrhage,” while internal and external hemorrhages in the skull, thorax, abdomen and limbs “contributed to the mechanism of death.”
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.
“O♑ur role was to head there quickly, give medical attention and try to resuscit🀅ate him, but his injuries were incompatible with life,” the medic said, .
“Based on what the team saw, there was apparently a cranial fracture and extremely serious injuries that led to his immediate death,” the medic 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 without him on Monday, 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 five-day trip turned into two weeks.
She has not yet addressed Payne’s passing.
The singer left behind one child — son Bear, 7, whose mother is Cheryl Cole, 41.
The former couple met in 2010 when he was a contestant on “The X Factor” and she was a judge. Payne and Cole started dating in 2016 and 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 .
“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.”
Follow along with The Post’s coverage of Liam Payne’s tragic death at 31
- Liam Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy b༒reaks her silence after his tragic death at 31: ‘At a compleꦚte loss’
- Liam Payn♋e’s final moments with fans🦹 in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Liam Payne had ‘very tense’ argument with mystery woman h🅘e offered $20K shortly before death
- One Direction releas♋es heartfelt statement on Liam Payne’s death: ‘We will miss him te♌rribly’
- ‘Violent scream𒐪’ came from Liam Payne’s room before he plunged to his death: hotel guest
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 such groups 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.
