The 10 Best Liam Payne Solo Songs of All-Time
Liam Payne rose to prominence through The X-Factor. He participated in the fifth series in 2008 and then in the seventh series in 2010. Famously, Nichole Scherzinger suggested that he and four other contestants form a group during the latter.
The result was One Direction, which didn’t win The X-Factor but did go on to become one of the most popular acts of the 2010s. Since the group’s hiatus, Payne has embarked on a solo career. So far, he has released one studio album and two EPs. It seems safe to say that more releases will follow in the future.
Here is our opinion of the best ten Liam Payne solo songs released so far:
10. “Naughty List”
“Naughty List” is a non-album single released in late 2020. Given the context, interested individuals should have no problem guessing it is a Christmas song. “Naughty List” gets extra points for being original music. Unfortunately, it isn’t quite capable of matching up to true Christmas classics, meaning it won’t place any higher on this list.
9. “Get Low”
“Get Low” might be best known to interested individuals as a Zedd song. That said, the man is a DJ, meaning Payne was the one who provided the vocals. On top of that, “Get Low” was included in Payne’s debut studio album LP1, thus making it very easy to argue that this is as much a Payne song as a Zedd song. Regardless, “Get Low” met with a respectable response in the summer of 2017.
It reached the number 26 position in the United Kingdom and the number 91 position in the United States. Furthermore, the song sold more than 200,000 copies in the first country and more than 500,000 copies in the second.
8. “Bedroom Floor”
“Bedroom Floor” was another single from LP1. It did a bit better than “Get Low” in the United Kingdom but a bit worse than the same song in the United States. As such, its sales weren’t quite as good because the U.S. market has such a disproportionate impact due to size.
7. “All I Want (For Christmas)”
“All I Want (For Christmas)” has been a Christmas classic ever since Mariah Carey released her first Christmas album in 1994. It is so popular that it consistently returns to the charts every holiday season.
Under those circumstances, it shouldn’t be surprising to learn that it has received countless covers, thus making it that much more difficult for any single version to stand out. Despite this, Payne’s version does manage to be quite distinctive. As such, his take on “All I Want (For Christmas)” merits mention on this list.
6. “For You”
Payne and Rita Ora released “For You” in 2018. This song sold very well, as shown by how it moved more than 600,000 copies in the United Kingdom alone. That said, these numbers aren’t necessarily indicative of the quality of “For You” itself.
For those unfamiliar, this song came out on the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack, meaning it presumably benefited from that franchise’s appeal with its intended audience. Of course, “For You” is still quite a decent song in its own right, so interested individuals shouldn’t hesitate to give it a listen.
5. “Stack It Up”
“Stack It Up” is another LP1 single. It is notable for featuring the rapper A Boogie wit da Hoodie, though it has been broadcast both with and without the rap segments. Subject-wise, the song is about working for one’s wealth, thus explaining much about its name.
4. “Live Forever”
Moving on, “Live Forever” is notable for being the last single from LP1. Those interested should know it is an electronic and dance love song. Essentially, the narrator says he was one of those burn-bright, burn-fast types before he met his significant other. Now that they are together, he wants them to live forever together.
That is a more distinctive-sounding statement than most. Plenty of love songs have talked about dying for a significant other. However, vowing to live for someone else can be just as impressive, seeing as how it is a promise that takes a lifetime rather than an instant to fulfill.
3. “Polaroid”
“Polaroid” is a single from the English DJ Jonas Blue. Payne was one of the two singers who provided the vocals. The other was the Canadian singer Lennon Stella. This song was popular in the United Kingdom, as shown by how it reached the number 12 position.
In contrast, it met with a less impressive reaction elsewhere, with Ireland being a notable exception with a peak at the number 22 position. Still, not just any song can sell more than 2 million copies, so interested individuals shouldn’t be surprised to learn that this has something special to it.
2. “Familiar”
“Familiar” is an R&B song with a considerable Latin influence. Unsurprisingly, Payne took the lead, though he was accompanied by the Colombian singer J Balvin. This is undoubtedly one of his best songs released so far. For proof, look no further than how it sold more than 600,000 copies in the United Kingdom, which isn’t mention how it went either Gold or Platinum in four other countries.
1. “Strip That Down”
“Strip That Down” occupies the top of this list. Moreover, the contest isn’t even close. Payne’s first single as a solo artist remains his most successful release. Chart-wise, “Strip That Down” reached the number three position in the United Kingdom and the number ten position in the United States. As for its sales, it moved more than 11.5 million copies, thus making it one of the most notable releases of 2017.
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