Cowell created and judged “The X Factor,” the show on which he and fellow judges put together Payne’s band, One Direction, in 2010.

Simon Cowell, who played an integral role in the rise of One Direction in the early 2010s, has issued a statement expressing condolences regarding Liam Payne’s death. “You never really know how you feel about someone until a moment like this happens,

Simon Cowell shared his reaction to the death of One Direction’s Liam Payne, whose career was kickstarted when Cowell was a judge on the U.K.’s The X Factor. "You never really know how you feel about someone until a moment like this happens.