Earlier this month, Netflix provided a first look at its upcoming series, Building the Band, which also became Liam Payne’s final project before his unexpected death. Now, the first official trailer for the show has dropped, providing fans a closer look at Payne’s participation.
The concept for Building the Band loosely follows the same formula as Netflix’s Love Is Blind, only this time with a musical element: Musicians blindly choose band members from individual booths, basing their decisions solely on someone’s vocal chops without being able to see the person performing. Now,
The trailer reveals the show’s key details, including how its star mentor, Nicole Scherzinger, and judges Kelly Rowland Payne will influence each group once they are selected. Fifty musicians will eventually form six bands to compete in front of the star-studded panel and former band members. Only one group will be crowned the winner.
As tensions and drama rise among the groups, Scherzinger, Rowland, and Payne provide guidance and impart wisdom to the group. “If everyone is fighting to be heard, then no one will shine,” Scherzinger can be heard saying at one point.
“How these bands were put together is not normal,” Payne can be heard telling a contestant. “We weren’t put together that way,” the late musician says, referring to his ultra-successful boy band One Direction. It’s both sincere and surreal to see glimpses of Payne offering advice to rising musicians.
At the time of Payne’s untimely death last October, Netflix halted production on Building the Band. In June, the show set a premiere date after Payne’s family approved footage, which was filmed in July 2024, four months before Payne died.
In an interview for Rolling Stone‘s in-depth investigation into Payne’s death, Building the Band shooting producer-director Simon Hay said, “He remembered people’s names and was chatty and approachable.” Another crew member recalled that Payne “really wanted to help” the participants on the show. “That was the extra gut punch when I heard the terrible news,” the source said. “He wouldn’t be able to help them anymore.”
