Nicole Scherzinger played a vital role in kickstarting late Liam Payne’s career.

The 47-year-old was of one those people on X-Factor in 2010 who decided to put Payne in a band together with Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan.

The band, however, became one of the popular pop groups of at the time, but they went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016 to pursue their solo careers.

Unfortunately, the former 1D member passed away last year on October 16 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina.

The dreadful news still haunts many of Liam’s friends and fans.

Nicole recently spoke to The Times of London on October 3, where she offered a glimpse into her bond with the late singer and their last interaction.

The American actress and singer described her last conversation with Liam as casual “chit-chat”.

She further revealed how much she loved the Teardrops singer and how even his ordinary words carried profound quality.

She told the publication, “I just adored Liam. He had such a good heart.”

“I barely knew him when I put One Direction together. I just saw these talented boys and was like, ‘I’m coming out of a girl group — I know the power of a group”, Scherzinger continued.