Liam Payne trusted AJ McLean with his unreleased songs before tragic death

AJ McLean is one of the few lucky people who got to hear the music Liam Payne was working on before his tragic passing last year.

In a recent interview with Today, McLean talked about the songs the late One Direction singer shared with him, which the world has yet to hear.

"He was just an absolute sweetheart, witty, funny. He sent me an unreleased body of work to get my opinion on it - and I never put that out there," the Backstreet Boys member revealed. "I thought that was really sweet that he would entrust someone that he's still learning about to give their opinion."

McLean developed a close rapport with the Story of My Life hitmaker while working on the upcoming Netflix series Building the Band.

Describing the music the Perfect vocalist was creating, McLean called it "a great body of work" and expressed hope that the world and fans will get to hear it someday. "It's beautiful, beautiful music," he lauded.

Earlier in 2024, Payne released the single Teardrops, which was supposed to be part of his second studio album.

"This 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," speaking before the album release, Payne explained. "So you can even help someone through a tough time, help somebody celebrate something. That's really what I want."

As of now, it remains unclear if Liam’s unreleased songs will ever make it to streaming platforms, leaving fans hoping for a posthumous tribute to his legacy.