A producer who worked with Liam Payne said Tuesday he will no longer release Payne's first posthumous single this Friday as initially planned, saying instead that "we will all wait."
Sam Pounds had announced the release date of "Do No Wrong" to be Friday, less than three weeks after Payne died suddenly in Argentina.
About delaying the single, Pounds wrote on X that he plans to "leave those liberties up to all family members."
"I want all proceeds go to a charity of their choosing (or however they desire). Even though we all love the song it’s not the time yet," he said. "We are all still mourning the passing of Liam and I want the family to morn in peace and in prayer."
In a since-deleted post about the single Monday, Pounds wrote: "I pray that this will be a blessing to the world like Liam has always dreamed. I pray angels will comfort you all every day while listening."
“I pray that this song will be a blessing to Ruth, Bear, and the entire family,” he added, referring to Payne's sister, Ruth Gibbins, and his 7-year-old son, Bear.
Pounds continued, "I pray that this song eclipses the negative echoes. I pray supernatural positive healing power will embrace each and every one of you."
He concluded the since-deleted post by asking followers to "BE the blessing."
Payne was found dead after he fell from his third-floor balcony at a hotel in Argentina, shortly after a hotel receptionist called 911 to report that a distressed guest who was intoxicated with alcohol and drugs was "breaking the whole room."
An autopsy found that Payne had 25 injuries "compatible with those produced by a fall from height" and that his cause of death was "polytraumatism, internal and external hemorrhage," the Argentina National Prosecutor’s Office said. He was 31.
Initial toxicology results reportedly found the drug cocktail known as "pink cocaine" in his system.
Payne first rose to stardom in 2010 as a member of boy band One Direction — alongside Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson — after they were discovered on the reality TV show "The X Factor."
After the band went on hiatus in 2016, Payne debuted his first solo single, "Strip That Down" featuring Quavo, which reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. He later released a solo album, "LP1," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart in December 2019.
