The release of new 10-part Netflix music competition series Building The Band has been bittersweet for Liam Payne fans. The late singer makes a posthumous appearance as a judge, and now, eight months after his tragic deathat just 31, sources tell heat the show’s broadcast has left Liam’s former partner and baby mama Cheryl with a heartbreaking decision – whether or not she and their eight-year-old son Bear would watch.
‘Cheryl has been feeling very conflicted. After a lot of thought, she decided the show was something she should watch, but she’s still really torn about whether Bear should see it,’ says an insider. ‘Cheryl is so protective of him, but she also wants Bear to be proud of his dad. She’s trying to focus on the positive aspect of it. She wants to show Bear how talented his dad was, but she doesn’t want to overwhelm him.’
Building The Band, which drops this week, sees Strip That Down singer Liam mentoring 50 musicians who will audition in isolated sound booths. The contestants choose from their fellow singers to form six bands, based on the quality of their voices alone.
Nicole Scherzinger – who is often credited with putting Liam’s former band One Direction together on The X Factor in 2010 – is the main judge, while Backstreet Boys star AJ McLean hosts. Liam will appear alongside Destiny Child’s Kelly Rowland from 16 July in the final four episodes.
The show – which was filmed shortly before Liam’s death by a fall from the third-floor balcony of his Buenos Aires hotel room last October – opens with a heartbreaking tribute to the singer, with host AJ saying, ‘When we came together to film Building The Band, we never imagined we’d soon be saying goodbye to our friend Liam Payne. Liam is a guest judge in later episodes and through his presence, we see his deep love for music and his unwavering commitment to helping others find their voice. It is through that spirit that we dedicate this series to Liam and his family.’
At the time of his death, Liam was in a relationship with US influencer Kate Cassidy. His two-year romance with Cheryl, 42, ended in July 2018, just over a year after the birth of Bear in March 2017, but the pair kept a close co- parenting relationship, with Liam calling her ‘one of the most important people – if not the most important person – in my life’.
Our source says, ‘The show was filmed so close to Liam’s passing, but Cheryl can see from the trailer that he still had that spark in his eye and was passionate about what he was doing. The whole thing is incredibly bittersweet. When someone dies suddenly, it leaves a huge hole, but with this show, it almost feels like she’s learning something new about Liam.’
The source continues, ‘This is something that Liam put his heart and soul into and wanted to be a success. He was proud of it and his family came to watch him filming. He was genuinely looking forward to it as the next chapter in his career.’
While Liam struggled within his personal life, he openly spoke about his deep love for Bear and Cheryl. ‘They’re so important to me,’ he admitted in 2019. Speaking to heat last December, a source told us the former Girls Aloud singer was determined to make her and Bear’s first Christmas without Liam ‘as familiar and nostalgic as possible’ while ensuring they honoured his memory.
Now, we’re told, Cheryl is still conflicted about whether to share some of Liam’s final public moments with their son. ‘The arrival of this show has been hugely triggering for Cheryl, but she is also being pragmatic,’ the insider says. ‘She’s seeing it as a celebration of Liam – she wants Bear to be proud of him.’