Zayn Malik Pays Tribute to Liam Payne at First Concert Since Death, Fans Cry

Zayn Malik's tribute to Liam Payne left the crowd at his concert a mess ... sharing a powerful message to his deceased One Direction bandmate -- and, the sobs were audible.

The singer-songwriter took the stage in Leeds, England Saturday ... his first show since Liam passed away after falling from his balcony at a hotel in Argentina in mid-October.

While most of the show seems to have been a pretty standard Zayn concert, it ended with a huge blue screen adorned with Liam's name, year of birth and death, followed by "Love You Bro" and a red heart emoji.

Zayn and his bandmates left the stage as Malik's song "Stardust" played ... a song with lyrics like "Feel like stardust/Floating all around us/Shooting right across a big black sky."

Clearly, fans saw a double meaning to the words ... 'cause they quickly started breaking down -- choking out the words through sobs.

It's a cathartic moment for many fans who grew up on One Direction ... crying as a collective about a month after Liam's death -- while authorities in Argentina are still working to uncover all the facts about the pop star's fall.

As we've told you ... Liam died after tumbling from his balcony in Argentina -- with the austopsy revealing he had several drugs including "pink cocaine" in his system.

Three people -- including one employee at the hotel where he died -- have been charged in the investigation into his death.

After posting a loving tribute on IG -- both individually and in a joint statement with the other members of 1D -- Zayn told fans in the U.S. he was postponing the American leg of his tour ... pushing dates to January 2025.