Lifestyle Beauty & Style Liam Payne Debuts Hopeful New Chest Tattoo After Detailing Sobriety Journey: 'Where Dark Meets Light' The former One Direction member candidly showed off his massive new ink By Bailey Richards Bailey Richards Bailey Richards is a writer-reporter at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2023 and interned with the brand in 2022. Her work has previously appeared in digital publications like Paper Magazine and TV Insider. People Editorial Guidelines Updated on July 10, 2023 04:37PM EDT Liam Payne and his new ink, a chest tattoo that reads, “Where dark meets light.". Photo: Certified Letter Boy/ The London Social / Instagram; Mike Marsland/WireImage Liam Payne stripped that down to show off his new ink. According to a joint Instagram post from fine line tattoo artists Miles Langford and Pablo (who goes by Certified Letter Boy), the singer’s latest tattoo was a collaborative effort between the London-based artists. Langford and Pablo — who has also tattooed Beckham brothers Cruz and Romeo — shared photos and a video of the sprawling chest piece, captioned, “Lettering for @liampayne.” Liam Payne 'Strips That Down' in Shirtless Poolside Selfie — See the Pic! The tattoo says, “where dark meets light” in an old-school tattoo font, with a slight break between words in the middle of the 29-year-old musician’s chest. Rather than entirely black or outlined lettering, the tattoo was (very fittingly) done in a light-to-dark ombré. Payne shared the artists’ post showcasing his new ink on his Instagram Story, where he gave a slightly more in-depth look at its meaning. “Where dark meets lighT,” the singer wrote, emphasizing the capitalization of the first and last letters of the phrase — although he didn’t share the reasoning behind this stylistic choice. “The soul,” the “Strip That Down” artist wrote, thanking the artists and adding that he loves "hanging and inking" with them. Liam Payne Shares Tribute to One Direction Bandmate Louis Tomlinson After Film Premiere: 'Saved My Life' Liam Payne in his new YouTube video, in which he talks about his journey with sobriety. Slightly reminiscent of One Direction’s 2013 track “Through the Dark,” which the former member helped write along with then-bandmate Louis Tomlinson, the chest tattoo is only the most recent addition to Payne’s extensive ink collection. The timing of the new tat also suggests that its emotional significance may be tied to the singer’s recent battle with sobriety, which he opened up about in a new YouTube video posted on Saturday. “I just kind of feel like I've got more of a grip on life and everything that was getting away from me,” Payne said in the candid video. “I just needed to take a little bit of time out for myself actually because I kind of became somebody who I didn't really recognize anymore. And I'm sure you guys didn't either. I was in bad shape up until that point and I was really happy to kind of put a stopper to life and work.” Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The British musician also shared that he has been sober for about six months. “I definitely don't need those things anymore,” he said. “The party's over.” In the video, he also apologized for his past behavior, namely his appearance on Impaulsive with Logan Paul, in which he criticized Zayn Malik, who was a founding member of One Direction along with Payne, Tomlinson, Harry Styles and Niall Horan. Liam Payne with the other members of One Direction, including Zayn Malik, who he criticized last year on Logan Paul's podcast, "Impaulsive.". Neilson Barnard/Getty Images Liam Payne Says He's Been Sober 'Over 100 Days' and Is Working on a New Album: 'I'm Super Happy' "A lot of what I said came from the wrong place," Payne — who has since exchanged friendly remarks with the “Pillow Talk” singer via Instagram comments — said in the YouTube video. Payne continued, “I was so angry at what was going on around me and instead of taking a look inwards I decided to look outwards at everybody else, and I just think, yeah, I took it out on everybody else, which is just wrong, really.”