Zayn Malik is pushing back seven shows after the death of his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne at 31. “Given the heartbreaking loss experienced this week, I’ve made the decision to postpone the US leg of the STAIRWAY TO THE SKY Tour,” he wrote in an October 19 Instagram Story. In support of his Room Under the Stars album, the U.S. leg of his first solo tour was originally scheduled to kick off in San Francisco on October 23, just one week after Payne’s death. According to Malik, the shows — including stops in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, D.C., and New York City — will now be rescheduled for January, with exact new dates to be shared in “the next few days.” (The European leg of his tour is still set to start in Edinburgh on November 20.) “Love you all and thank you for your understanding,” he said.
Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Malik previously mourned the loss of their “brother” in a joint tribute shared on One Direction’s Instagram. Malik later shared an individual statement addressed to Payne.
“Liam, I have found myself talking out loud to you, hoping you can hear me, I can’t help but think selfishly that there were so many more conversations for us to have in our lives,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “I never got to thank you for supporting me through some of the most difficult times in my life. When I was missing home as a 17-year-old kid you would always be there with a positive outlook and reassuring smile and let me know you were my friend and that I was loved.” A “beyond devastated” Malik also praised Payne’s personality and professionalism, adding that he’ll always cherish their memories together. “I hope that wherever you are right now you are good and are at peace 🙏🏽 and you know how loved you are,” he concluded.