One Direction- HISTORY

The Beggining- X FACTOR

ZAYN
In 2010, 17-year-old Malik auditioned in Manchester for the seventh series of reality-television competition The X Factor. He sang "Let Me Love You" by rhythm-and-blues vocalist Mario as his audition song and was accepted into the next round. He was eliminated before the final round of the competition, but judges Nicole Scherzinger and Simon Cowell grouped him with fellow competitors Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson to form a new act for the remainder of the show.

Performing as One Direction, this group became one of the most popular finalists in their season of The X Factor. They finished the competition in third place and they were immediately signed to Cowell's Syco music label.

LOUIS
Louis Tomlinson is the oldest member of the popular boy band One Direction.

Tomlinson auditioned for the television talent competition The X Factor in 2009, but was turned down. However, when he returned to try out for the show's seventh season in 2010, his rendition of the song "Hey There Delilah" by the Plain White T's brought him successfully into the competition. He advanced several rounds, singing hits like Adele's "Make You Feel My Love." He was eliminated before the final round, but the judges united him with his fellow competitors Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Zayn Malik to form a group act. This new band, called One Direction, finished the competition in third place and received a contract with Simon Cowell's music label.

LIAM
Payne auditioned for the television talent competition The X Factor in 2008 and performed well enough to become one of the final 24 competitors before he was eliminated. For the next two years, he continued to train as a vocalist. He auditioned for The X Factoragain in 2010 and moved further up in the competition, winning praise for his renditions of songs like "Cry Me a River" and Oasis's "Stop Crying Your Heart Out."

Although Payne was eliminated as a solo artist before the show's final round, he became part of a newly formed group act when judges Nicole Scherzinger and Simon Cowell combined him with his fellow competitors Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik. Performing as One Direction, Payne and his new band-mates finished the competition in third place and received a contract with Cowell's music label.

HARRY
In 2010, when he was 16 years old, Harry competed in the seventh season of the television show The X Factor, singing Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" as his audition song and Oasis' "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" in a later round. He was cut before the finals, but in a surprise move, judges Nicole Scherzinger and Simon Cowell put him together with fellow competitors Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik to form a new group act for the remainder of the competition.

Performing as One Direction (a name reportedly suggested by Styles), the five boys became one of the most popular contenders in the X Factor finals that season. Although they finished the competition in third place, they were immediately signed to Cowell's Syco music label.

NIALL
In 2010, when he was 16 years old, Horan auditioned for the television talent competition The X Factor. He moved up through several rounds of preliminary auditions culminating in a performance for the program's judges, including Simon Cowell and guest judge Katy Perry, in Dublin. He sang a version of Ne-Yo's "So Sick" and was accepted into the official competition. Although he was eliminated as a solo contestant after the semifinals, the judges combined Horan with Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson to form the boy band called One Direction.

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The newly formed (2010) band on stage together after a performance.