“He loved to help”: Nicole Scherzinger says Liam Payne found joy on ‘Building the Band’ set alongside AJ McLean and Kelly Rowland

Netflix’s Building the Band singing competition premiered on July 9, 2025, and judge Nicole Scherzinger discussed the show’s creation process with Billboard, while also talking about one of its guest judges, Liam Payne. Payne, who was a former member of One Direction, passed away in October 2024 after falling from his balcony during his stay in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Scherzinger, who was a guest judge when Payne competed in the X Factor in 2010, revealed that the singer was excited to help upcoming singers and give wisdom to the contestants of the show:

“I saw the joy it brought to Liam. I felt that this was his happy place. Like myself, AJ, and Kelly, we’ve lived this. We’ve learned it. To be able to bestow any inspiration and knowledge and wisdom and experience on any of these contestants and these bands, it brought us all joy."

She added:

"Particularly Liam. I felt this really inspired him and this was his happy place. This was his happy place because Liam was such a beautiful heart, and he loved to give back. He loved to help."

“I thought it was so beautiful to see Liam come full circle:" Nicole Scherzinger reflects on the late singer’s musical journey

Nicole Scherzinger expressed that she witnessed Payne come full circle in his singing career, right from being trained as a band member to helping others find compatible bandmates years later. She described the experience as a beautiful one:

“I thought it was so beautiful to see the journey, to see Liam come full circle. Especially my relationship with him, having helped form the band One Direction and then see him have such wildly, phenomenal global success with One Direction and with his solo career … [to see him] mentor these bands, it was really beautiful,”

The former Pussycat Doll member revealed during the Billboard interview that Building the Band was a “social experiment” that became a worthwhile venture. Scherzinger added that the show was based on musical compatibility and learning to form alliances.

Building the Band follows young artists who form groups without meeting their members in real life. While the contestants would be allowed to listen to each other’s auditions, they would meet for the first time as they performed on stage together.

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The show’s first four episodes were released on July 9, 2025. The final three episodes are scheduled to drop on July 23, 2025.

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