Liam Payne’s new hair – or lack of – is making his fans use a lot of capital letters (Picture: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
The One Direction are certainly finding their own styles, and Liam Payne looks almost unrecognisable in his recent transformation.
Gone are the days of straightened, side-swept hair and cheesy grins. Welcome to the 30-year-old’s ‘reputation era’.
That’s right, after Harry Styles got a buzz cut and fans cried out in despair, now Liam has gone and done the same.
He does, admittedly, look pretty good. But it appears fans are struggling to get over the difference, as a lot of capital letters were used in the comments section of his social media post marking the change.
Alongside the pictures of his new look on Instagram – which also happens to be his only post – Liam wrote: ‘ A new chapter 💧 link in bio.’
In case you were wondering, the link goes to a newsletter sign up page. For hardcore fans only, it seems…
This is not the first time Liam has sported a buzzcut (Picture: John Phillips/Getty Images for BFI)
Liam and Cheryl welcomed a baby together, but are no longer an item (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage)
But back to those incredible pictures. In the black and white snaps, Liam is seen looking very serious indeed, as he ducks his head for the first shot, showing off his new buzzcut and chiseled jawline, with impeccably shaved stubble if we’ve ever seen it.
He wears a simple white vest top, and a chain rests on his neck, with his tattoos exposed – consisting of a gothic cross, an angel figure on his arm, and some bold writing on his chest.
In the second picture, Liam’s brows furrow as his eyes pierce the camera, and he looks pretty deep, man.
Naturally, fans – including Paris Hilton – exploded onto his page.
The Simple Life star commented with a phrase she coined, ‘#Sliving’, meaning living your best life.
One shocked Instagram user, mariethefrog, commented: ‘AND WHAT DID YOU BRING LIAM? NO HAIRRR.’
‘Everyone going bald…..one direction ❌️ bald direction ✅️’ joked user _scubadubadobooboo.
Another speculated why all the One Direction guys were sporting the short-haired look one by one.
‘No offence but Why the hell is everyone going bald?? First Harry then Zayn and now Liam!! What kind of haircut reunion is this,’ they asked, stunned.
Others were more excited, if not shocked, as naya_blancoo said: ‘My jaw dropped to hell and back, I’m ready.’
‘LIAM IN REPUTATION ERA,’ shouted another.
Aha, there’s the Liam we remember (Picture: WireImage)
He has sported many looks over the years (Picture: Kym Illman/Getty Images)
Okay, okay, calm down everyone. Although he’s had a haircut – albeit a dramatic one – Liam has been layering up his inked look for years now.
‘When you get to a certain point with tattoos, you just kind of want to fill space with of nice pictures or just whatever else,’ he told GQ in September 2019.
‘A lot more of my tattoos now are pictures rather than things that have special meanings or whatever. I don’t know, I just like the artwork of it.’
He told Page Six that same year he was drunk aged 19 when he got his first tattoo – an arrow design on the back of his arm.
‘The funniest thing about this situation is that when I got the tattoo when I was maybe 19, I woke up in the morning – I was heavily drunk when I got it – and my arm was really hurting, and I looked down and was like, “What the hell have I done?”’ he said.
‘I was literally still in bed Googling “tattoo removal.” I really regretted it for a while – but I don’t know, with tattoos over time, I find that they just become part of you.”
Tattoos aside, we’re not sure what this suggested ‘new chapter’ could mean for Liam, who was hospitalised in September just weeks after he was treated for a serious kidney infection and forced to cancel his tour.
If you sign up to Liam’s newsletter, expect updates, as in December he wrote one to his fans detailing his recovery.
There they are (Picture: Steve Eichner/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images)
‘Hey everyone. Just wanted to send an email checking in and saying hi – it’s been a while!
‘I’ve been travelling a lot and feeling in a much better state health-wise. I really needed the break.’
He didn’t say much about his next movements, apart from a little tease: ‘There’s so much I can’t talk about right now that’s coming up but you’ll all find out soon enough.’
Reports suggested he was shooting his comeback music video in Ireland before he fell ill.
‘After a lot of searching, he’s finally found his sound,’ a source told The Sun, explaining that his comeback single could be dropped in the first few months of 2024.
Liam last music came in August 2021, when he released single Sunshine. He has since had a few personal knock backs.
The Strip That Down singer spent time in a wellness clinic in the US in 2022, having spoken openly about his mental health struggles and alcohol addiction.
He was also slapped with a six-month driving ban in October after he was clocked speeding in West London.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE : Liam Payne teases return to spotlight after shock hospitalisation
MORE : Liam Payne fans freak out over Instagram reply from former One Direction bandmate
That was radical.