Niall Horan announces Liam Payne tribute song 'End of an Era' release date

Niall Horan’s next single is dedicated to his former One Direction bandmate, Liam Payne.

The 32-year-old musician has announced that his new single, End of an Era, will be out this Friday (May 22). The song is the 12th and final track on his upcoming fourth studio album, Dinner Party, set for release on June 5.

End of an Era was co-written by Horan, Julian Bunetta, John Ryan, who first tried to compose the song “years and years ago” and re-wrote it a few times, but it never felt “quite right.”

The song finally came together and found its place on Horan’s upcoming album. “I felt it needed its own space before the album comes out in a few weeks, so here you go,” he wrote on Instagram.

Horan previously revealed that End of an Era is about Payne, who tragically passed away in October 2024 at the age of 31.

During a May 19th appearance on And The Writer Is…, Horan further opened up about the meaning behind the song. “It’s a song of loss and fear of loss and the end of an era… It’s sad,” he shared.

The Irish singer noted that the song captures the feelings of nostalgia and sadness. “They are the two feelings I have when I think of Liam. Sadness that he’s not with us anymore, but also looking back at the good times of growing up together. All of those things come floating back in this song along with the sadness, it’s touching on both feelings,” he explained.

Horan reflected on the shock of Payne’s death — especially given how it happened just a few days after Payne attended Horan’s concert — and revealed how it affected his own touring.

“Extremely shocking, tough… it’s such a surreal thing to even think about. But it fires me up because I know that Liam loved being on stage. That would make me excited to get on tour and do it for the fans because I know he loved it as much as I did,” he shared.

Horan is now gearing up to hit the road again for his Dinner Party Live on Tour kicking off in September in Birmingham, UK. After multiple shows across the UK and Europe, Horan will take the tour to North America in March 2027.