Two Australian musicians are featured in Midnight Til Morning, a new group formed through the Netflix reality series Building the Band, which was the final project involving Liam Payne before his death in 2024.
The group includes Conor Smith (22) from the NSW Central Coast and Mason Watts (25) from Toowoomba, Queensland, alongside American members Shane Appell (22, New York) and Zach Newbould (22, Massachusetts).
Midnight Til Morning will release their debut single, “Bye”, on August 6th, with the track available now for pre-save across major streaming platforms.
The song was co-written by Benson Boone, Amy Allen (Harry Styles, Sabrina Carpenter), Scott Harris (Shawn Mendes, Dua Lipa), Elie Rizk, and the band members themselves. Rizk also produced the track alongside Grammy-nominated JT Daly. A music video directed by Josh Harris (Peach PRC, Go-Jo) will follow.
The group is managed and signed by Chugg Music, with Michael Chugg AM and Andrew Stone overseeing global management and strategy. Chugg Music’s roster also includes Lime Cordiale, Sheppard, and Eurovision 2025 artist Go-Jo. A tour announcement is expected soon.
Building the Band follows 50 musicians as they form groups based on vocal performance alone, without seeing one another. The show features mentors including Nicole Scherzinger, with Kelly Rowland and Liam Payne serving as judges and advisers.
The series was filmed in July 2024, four months before Payne’s death. After approval from his family, Netflix released the show in June 2025. It is currently a Top 10 global title on the platform.
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In a recent interview for Rolling Stone‘s in-depth investigation into Payne’s death, Building the Band shooting producer-director Simon Hay said, “He remembered people’s names and was chatty and approachable.” Another crew member recalled that Payne “really wanted to help” the participants on the show. “That was the extra gut punch when I heard the terrible news,” the source said. “He wouldn’t be able to help them anymore.”
