Latest news with #OneD
Perth Now
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
AJ McLean has 'constant reminder' of Liam Payne
AJ McLean has a "constant reminder" of Liam Payne on his phone. The Backstreet Boys singer grew close to the late One Direction star - who died in October aged 31 after falling from his hotel balcony - when shooting Netflix series Building the Band, and he has kept a recording of their final conversation because he felt the chat perfectly reflected the kind and funny person he knew Liam to be. AJ - who hosts Building the Band - told People magazine: "I've not deleted it. I've kept it on my phone as a constant reminder of who he was. He was a very positive, uplifting person. "He had a real quick wit about him. I don't know if it was the British humour or just him as a person. I think that was one of the things that him and I really, really gelled immediately with. "Both of us were sarcastic and fun and funny, and always making jokes and pranks and just having fun with everybody on set. "But also as an artist, he was extremely talented. Not only as a singer-performer, but as a songwriter-producer, and he truly did light up the room when he'd walk on set." AJ, 47, had known Liam for a long time but they got particularly close while the Strip That Down singer was filming his stint as a guest judge on Building the Band. AJ said: "We've known each other over the years since One D started, but this was probably the most lengthy time that we've ever really been in the same room talking about everything from music to sobriety to life." The I'll Never Break Your Heart singer got the chance to hear Liam's final music, and he hopes the record gets released one day because he thinks fans will love it. He said: "He hit me up when we had a few days off from shooting and sent me what would've been his most recent solo album, just to ask my opinion on the music... And I thought it was an insane body of work. It was so good. I hope somewhere down the road, somehow people get to hear it, especially all the One D fans."
Daily Mirror
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Liam Payne's parents heartbreaking verdict on poignant new Netflix show
Liam Payne is seen in new Netflix series Building the Band filmed just months before his tragic death in Buenos Aires that broke hearts around the world Liam Payne's grieving parents gave the OK for his final project to be aired on Netflix just nine months after his tragic death for a heartbreaking reason. Late pop icon Liam Payne's parents were overwhelmed with emotion and pride seeing their son become a mentor on Netflix's Building the Band that they wanted the world to watch. In their grief, dad Geoff and wife Karen gave the green light for Netflix to air the show as they felt 'this is how we want everyone to remember Liam." Liam's friend and fellow judge Nicole Scherzinger, said the One Direction singer will 'shine' in his final ever project as she revealed how the late star worked overtime to help guide musical wannabes on their journeys to form bands for the streamer. He felt a kinship to the talent given he had experienced being an auditionee one moment and then within 18 months becoming part of the biggest boy band ever. Nicole became emotional as she discussed her experiences working with the English star, who died of 'polytrauma" after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires last October. She recalled how Liam sang a One D hit for his audiences and encouraged his fellow judges to perform tunes while on filming breaks. Doubts were raised over the show moving ahead, but Nicole confessed that Liam's parents felt his screen work needed to be seen and celebrated. Nicole said: 'Liam meant and means so much to all of us, and we were very obviously sensitive to the whole process. We ultimately left it into his family's hands and wanted to respect how they felt about everything and how to move forward. 'And his parents were there during the filming. They were amazing. It was so wonderful. 'They were actually kind of sat right next to us through the whole process, and they've been with Liam and with us through this entire process. 'So to know that we had their blessing, to know that they were so proud of him on the show, they were like, 'oh, yes, this is how we want everyone to remember Liam'' Nicole, who famously put together One Direction on the X Factor series amid pushback from Simon Cowell, said of working with Liam: 'I am so thrilled for everyone to see Liam shine on this show. "I just know that he was in his happy place coming full circle, having started out in a similar situation on a talent reality show, and then having the global success that he has had, and then to be able to give back and to mentor and to help these bands. "I know that he really enjoyed our filming process and being a part of this process. "I know that he put in the extra hours that he wanted to work with these bands even off screen. "So when I think about Liam in the show, I'm thrilled for everyone to see his light. And he was amazing. Sometimes he would, I mean, I would be like, wow, 'you just said that - that was awesome. I wish I said that. ' "He was really great at this role. He was giving back, and that's one of his gifts. 'He was such a kind, caring heart, And like I said, and respect, he had the experience. He grafted with One Direction. He knows exactly what he's talking about. ' Nicole recalled being sat alongside Liam as a judge was "crazy for me" because: "I still remember the day that I saw Liam auditioning on the X Factor we're onto something. 'But they did all the work themselves after that. And he had the global success that he had with One Direction in himself. It was a phenomenon, right? So for him to have achieved that success and then to be coming back and then giving that advice and mentoring these contestants was really cool for me to see. "I don't know if someone should write a book. It was really full circle and really, really beautiful." Nicole felt that many contestants had connections to her, Liam, with AJ McClean and Kelly Rowland. 'It was awesome. It was really sweet, Liam, actually, I don't know if the cameras were on or not, but when the cameras, when we were on a break, he actually sang. What Makes You Beautiful to his fans, because they were all freaking out that he was there. And he just loved it. 'That was a special memory, and to be a part of that and to witness that, 'Because the fans would make us do different things in the breaks.I sang, Kelly did something and then Liam talked us all tp put on a full show at concert. It was amazing. ' Nicole reflected on how she and Liam were perfect choices to judge the Netflix series. 'I started out really with a talent reality show and I was just myself. That's the best advice I could always give is just leave with your heart and bring your balls of steel and let your talent speak for itself.' Nicole spoke to US shows Access and ET to promote Building The Band. Nicole, who just won the Tony Award for her portrayal of Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, admitted that a Pussycat Dolls comeback is not being discussed. It is the 20th anniversary of the band blasting into the charts with their debut hit. 'I can't say anything right now. I'm still in Norma land, but I don't think it's off the table to say who knows what the future holds with the Dolls. 'However when asked: 'Do you all still keep in touch?', Nicole played down the group rivalries and reacted: 'Not currently. 'But I love the girls, And I guess in a weird way, if social media is keeping in touch when you're liking and commenting on their socials, I guess that's probably because everybody's so busy and half of the girls, they've got children and everything and their own family, so they're super busy.' Every episode of Building the Band will be streaming on Netflix July 9.
CNA
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNA
Singapore's Pierre Png, Cynthia Koh and Hong Huifang to star in new Thai co-production thriller
Some of Thailand and Singapore's brightest stars will come together in a new co-production for which filming is currently ongoing in Bangkok and Singapore. Decalcomania is about two women, one a privileged socialite in Singapore and the other a hardened nightclub owner in Bangkok, who discover they are long-lost twins after a car accident causes them to mysteriously switch bodies. Both characters are played by Thai actress Mookda Narinrak. Other stars include Master Of The House's Chai Chatayodom Hiranyatithi and Mad Unicorn's Thaneth Warakulnukroh, while Singapore is represented by Pierre Png, Cynthia Koh, Hong Huifang, Amy Cheng and new talent Gladys Ng. The show is slated to debut on Thai TV channel ONE31 and the OneD app at the end of the year, as well as on mewatch early next year. Png, no stranger to international productions thanks to his role in Crazy Rich Asians, plays a 'very dedicated policeman' who is hardcore at work but deferential to his wife at home, he told us. The character is determined to take down a wealthy businessman with whom his family has a personal vendetta. Although he knows only a few words of Thai, most of which are unprintable – 'as with every new language, you learn the bad things first, right?' – he appreciates Thai productions such as How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, he said. 'It's the twist – how you assume it's going to go down this way, but along the way, there are a few clever detours.' In addition, 'Thai comedy works for me. It's very cleverly plotted out.' Png feels he's quite similar to his character, not only in terms of being respectful to his wife, but also when it comes to feeling for the marginalised, he said, sharing that he recently took up sign language and also started a movement called SPEAK, standing for Suicide Prevention through Empathy, Awareness and Kindness. 'I feel that not enough is being done to educate or bring awareness to youths who are very troubled in this day and age with the influx of information that is so readily available,' he said. 'I don't have children, but I have many nephews and nieces, and many friends who have children. I made it my goal to use whatever mileage I have to bring attention to these things.' On the professional front, Png was the first and only choice to play the Decalcomania role, said executive producer Michelle Chang of Singapore's Mocha Chai Laboratories, who had brought the story to Thai entertainment giant The One Enterprise, resulting in the collaboration. Chang, together with director Chai Yee Wei and writer Chance Wanlass, who co-created the concept, also brought us the award-winning film Wonderland starring Mark Lee and Peter Yu. 'I wanted Pierre from the get-go,' she said. 'I knew, from his days in Phua Chu Kang, that he could do comedy, and I also know he could do serious drama, because of Zero Calling.' And when showrunner Nipon Pewnen (Thicha, Spare Me Your Mercy) saw Png's audition, he knew they had their guy, she said. 'Pierre has this ability to play that dual personality – tough cop at work, sweet husband at home. Everyone loved his audition.' She was also keen to work with Thai collaborators as productions like Master Of The House and Mad Unicorn convinced her they were 'next-level' creators, she said. Scripting the show, with the contributions of a Thai writing team, involved a lot of time and back-and-forth as scripts were translated from English into Thai and back into English. Once filming commenced, though, crew from both countries instantly got along in spite of not speaking the same language, thanks to 'movie magic', she quipped. The story will resonate with audiences, Pewnen said, because 'rich or poor, everyone has their own problems. Why? If you're begging for what you don't have, it will cost you a lot. The world is very chaotic right now, because we can never get enough wealth, power, everything. But, if you can find satisfaction within yourself, you won't have to fight for anything'. Creatively, he said, it's important to make shows that represent Southeast Asia. 'You see Korean series; you see American series. We have to put Southeast Asian series on the map. Let's make Singapore proud. Let's make Thailand proud. Let's make Southeast Asia proud.'
