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\n\tAJ McLean<\/a> is one of the few people who heard some of the music Liam Payne <\/a>was working on prior to his death in October 2024. The Backstreet Boys<\/a> member developed a close rapport with the One Direction<\/a> singer while working on the Netflix series Building the Band<\/a><\/em>. In a recent interview with Today<\/a><\/em>, McLean detailed the songs Payne previewed for him that remain unreleased. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cHe was just an absolute sweetheart, witty, funny. He sent me an unreleased body of work to get my opinion on it \u2014 and I never put that out there,\u201d McLean said. \u201cI thought that was really sweet that he would entrust someone that he\u2019s still learning about to give their opinion.\u201d He added, \u201cI thought it was a great body of work. And I hope that the world and that the fans get to hear it somewhere down the road. It\u2019s beautiful, beautiful music.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tPayne released the single \u201cTeardrops\u201d <\/a>in March 2024, which was meant to appear on his second studio album. Another boyband member, \u2018NSYNC\u2019s JC Chasez, served as a collaborator on the song. \u201cThis album literally is that whole last year for me. How I was feeling on those days is each record. It was a snapshot of that day,\u201d Payne said prior to the single release. \u201cSo you can even help someone through a tough time, help somebody celebrate something. That\u2019s really what I want to get across in this record and that\u2019s the best part I guess about my job.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cTeardrops\u201d ultimately became Payne\u2019s final music release. The musician died<\/a> on Oct. 16 at the age of 31 from injuries sustained after falling from the balcony of his hotel room. Less than two weeks after his death, the musician Sam Pounds announced and later postponed <\/a>plans to release their collaboration \u201cDo No Wrong,\u201d saying, \u201cIt\u2019s not the time yet.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tNext week\u2019s premiere of Making the Band <\/em>will mark Payne\u2019s first posthumous appearance. Netflix previously paused production on the series given his involvement as a judge. The show will be released in three parts this month. The\u00a0first four episodes will be available on July 9, with three more dropping on July 16, and the final set on July 23.\u00a0<\/p>\n