{"id":84767,"date":"2025-07-23T02:25:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T02:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/84767\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T02:25:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T02:25:09","slug":"liam-payne-to-appear-in-netflixs-building-the-band-final-episodes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/84767\/","title":{"rendered":"Liam Payne to appear in Netflix’s ‘Building the Band’ final episodes"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2014 Netflix\u2019s new reality show, \u201cBuilding the Band,\u201d unexpectedly became Liam Payne\u2019s<\/a> last major appearance \u2014 moments the show\u2019s hosts say they, along with contestants and viewers, are lucky to have.<\/p>\n

The show features Payne as a guest judge, offering pointed but witty advice to young bands chasing success not unlike what he achieved as part of the culture-shifting boy band, One Direction.<\/a> Payne died in October<\/a> after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina, not long after the show\u2019s production wrapped.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting to see the real, true him that the world gets to remember him for, which you\u2019ll see on this show, is just a beautiful thing,\u201d says the Backstreet Boys\u2019<\/a> AJ McLean, the show\u2019s host.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuilding the Band\u201d flips traditional music competitions on their head, bringing together 50 up-and-coming artists who are tasked with singing for each other and forming groups based on those performances. The catch? They can\u2019t see how anyone looks.<\/p>\n

The first batch of episodes premiered in early July and the last few episodes, including the finale, will drop Wednesday. The show ultimately follows six bands working to develop their group sound and performances \u2014 until only one band is left standing, winning the $500,000 prize.<\/p>\n

The show is hosted by McLean, with Pussycat Dolls<\/a> frontwoman \u2014 and newly minted Tony winner<\/a> \u2014 Nicole Scherzinger<\/a> mentoring the bands and Destiny\u2019s Child star Kelly Rowland<\/a> serving as a guest judge alongside Payne.<\/p>\n

Payne\u2019s impact on \u2018Building the Band\u2019<\/p>\n

The series opened with a dedication to Payne and his family, in which McLean said they \u201cnever imagined we\u2019d soon be saying goodbye to our friend\u201d while filming the show.<\/p>\n

Payne first appears in the seventh episode for the showcase, where each band performs in front of a live audience and the judges, only about a week after they form.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were amazing dancers, obviously, in One Direction,\u201d Payne joked in the episode while offering critiques to boy band Midnight \u2019til Morning, whose members expressed hesitations with dancing onstage. Band member Mason Watts then revealed his family had won tickets to sit front row at a One Direction concert when he was 11, stoking applause from the crowd and a heartfelt response from Payne.<\/p>\n

\u201cEver since that moment, I wanted to be in a group,\u201d Watts, originally from Australia, said in the episode. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a full-circle moment to be here with a group and performing in front of you. So, thank you, man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Landon Boyce, a member of the show\u2019s other boy band, Soulidified, told The Associated Press that Payne left a lasting impact and was a leading example of how he hopes to carry himself as a performer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember Liam just said, \u2018Have fun,\u2019\u201d Boyce says. \u201cHe just told us, \u2018I wish One Direction kind of, like, did what you guys were doing.\u2019 And I kind of just took that as like, let\u2019s just have fun and dance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Payne is seen nodding along with excitement during the band\u2019s showcase performance, when they sang \u201cSure Thing\u201d by Miguel. Bradley Rittmann, another Soulidified member, told the AP they were \u201con Cloud 9\u201d after Payne said he would join their band.<\/p>\n

Payne applauded their ability to own the stage and acknowledged the unconventionality of their band due to the members\u2019 varying musical and fashion styles, saying he \u201cwouldn\u2019t put you guys together, but the result was amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

How it works: \u2018Love is Blind\u2019 meets \u2018The Voice\u2019<\/p>\n

This show mashes together the likes of \u201cLove is Blind\u201d<\/a> with music competition shows like \u201cThe Voice,\u201d secluding contestants in pods, where they can only hear each other. Contestants can express interest by hitting a button during the performance, and then speak through voice chats to test their chemistry.<\/p>\n

The initial 50 contestants dwindled to just 22, comprising two boy bands, three girl bands and one mixed-gender group. Contestants chose their bandmates without input from the host or judges.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt formed in the most real, raw, authentic way,\u201d says Aaliyah Rose Larsen, a member of the mixed-gender band SZN4. \u201cI think we would have re-found each other in a million other lifetimes, in a billion other shows, because we were always meant to find each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

The result of this process, judges say, are bands that labels traditionally wouldn\u2019t form, given members\u2019 differences in style and appearance \u2014 an important pillar of the show, McLean and Rowland say, given the current state of the music industry.<\/p>\n

\""BuildingAalith Rose Larsen, from left, Cameron Goode, Donzell Taggart and Katherine Reorder of SZN4 pose for a portrait to promote “Building the Band” on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Rebecca Cabage\/Invision\/AP)Rebecca Cabage\/Invision\/AP<\/p>\n

\u201cBack in the beginning of our careers, your sophomore album was the one that would make or break you. Now you get one shot,\u201d McLean says. \u201cTo be able to give the power back to these individuals, to let them put each other together based on just raw talent and chemistry, never seeing each other, is a testament to truly what it is to be in a band.\u201d<\/p>\n

An audience vote determines which bands continue on after each live performance. The last episode of the first batch left viewers on a cliffhanger, as Midnight \u2018til Morning and girl group Siren Society were voted in the bottom two. The next batch will reveal who was eliminated.<\/p>\n

Payne embraced the mentorship role<\/p>\n

Rowland says Payne was fully invested in the process and checked in regarding the bands\u2019 progress after filming. Payne had also expressed interest in mentoring the bands after the show ended, Boyce remembers.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was just honest. He called everything out, you know what I mean? Before they saw it, before we saw it,\u201d Rowland says, adding that Payne had \u201cmany shining moments\u201d during his storied and decorated career<\/a>, \u201cbut this was a really incredible one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nori Moore, a member of 3Quency, \u201chad a lot of firsts\u201d in the show as a young performer and says Payne\u2019s advice to contestants that they claim the moment every time they walk onstage was pivotal to her development as an artist.<\/p>\n

Larsen says viewers can watch the show and \u201csee his heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know how much he loves the show,\u201d says Katie Roeder, another SZN4 member. \u201cI know he\u2019s very proud of us and looking down on us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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