X Factor' judges Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Cheryl Cole paid tribute to One Direction singer Liam Payne, who died Wednesday at age 31.

Cowell has now broken his silence with an emotional tribute to the star. It was the music mogul's idea to form One Direction with five boys who had auditioned on The X Factor. The group - made up of Payne, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles and Zayn Malik - became The X Factor's biggest success story to date.

Simon Cowell is mourning the loss of Liam Payne as tributes to the late One Direction singer continue to pour in.