Former The Voice coach and One Direction singer Niall Horan is still mourning the loss of his friend and collaborator Liam Payne nearly two years later.
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Speaking with The Times UK, the musician says that Payne's death still doesn't feel real. The Voice coach had seen Payne a few weeks before he died.
"I'm glad of that, it means my last memory of him was happy," he told the publication. "It still feels surreal. On day one I was, like, 'Nah, it didn't happen.' Our friendship was a bond that was there forever even if we hadn't seen each other for a while and it's wild that one day, like the flick of a switch, he's gone."
Horan says that he is still processing his grief over the death of his One Direction bandmate. But he cherishes the memories that they have together.
'The Voice' and One Direction Singer Talks Grief
"When I think of Liam's passing, there is sadness, but it also makes me laugh and smirk because of the memories we had," he said. "I'll go to places and think of something stupid in a hotel or something random that makes me laugh."
Horan continued, "We always had good fun in Australia because we were able to get out and go to the beach. Liam wasn't too bad at surfing. I can barely swim."
Horan processed his grief with a song titled "end of an Era," which focused on their friendship together.
"[There are] memories that only he and I can share 'cause you have a team and you have people around all the time," he told the publication. "But we always said that only us have that experience, no one else has that."
He had seen Payne just days before he died. The Voice coach and One Direction singer learned that Payne had died while watching TV. .
"I just remember getting a message. And I was just like, 'What?'... I just didn't think it was real," he said. "Someone so young, you're not expecting to hear that they've passed, especially someone that you've just seen. I just went back from shock to sadness to anger."
