At the very beginning of this year’s audition stages Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson didn’t even know each other and would never have thought that at the end of 2010 they would be in a band together as finalists of X Factor.
Liam’s journey on the show started 2 years ago when he auditioned and got through to Simons house, but was sent packing when Simon decided he wasn’t ready. Fortunately Liam decided to come back at 16 and audition this year and show Simon how much he has improved and that he has got what it takes. His rendition of ‘Cry Me a River’ caused guest judge Natalie Imbruglia and Simon Cowell to stand and applaud along with the rest of the audience.
Cheryl said he’s definitely got it, whatever it is and that his voice is really powerful.
Natalie said that others in the competition should be a little bit worried about him as his was so impressive.
Louis was really glad he came back as it was a brilliant vocal and for 16 years it was so confident.
Simon said that 2 years ago he wasn’t quite ready and that if he came back in 2 years he would be a different person, and he got it right.
Liam got a unanimous yes from the judges and he was sent through to Bootcamp.
When 16 year old Chesire boy, Harry Styles first auditioned this year he was the lead singer of ‘White Eskimo’ and when they won a Battle of the Bands competition, it made Harry realise that he want to perform and sing because he got a rush from being in front of people doing just that. He auditioned in front of the judges with an acapella version of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Isn’t She Lovely’. From his audition he had the crowd on side already, but he still had to hear what the judges thought. Nicole said that for his age he has a beautiful voice, Louis liked the tone of Harry’s vocals but at 16, didn’t think he was ready. Simon disagreed with Louis, seeing some potential, saying that with some vocal coaching, Harry could be really good. Harry got 2 out of 3 yes’s and got through to Bootcamp.
Niall Horan is from Mullingar in Ireland and when he auditioned at 16 he wanted to be as big as Beyonce and Justin Bieber and sell out arenas, make albums and work with some of the best artists around. The day he auditioned would be the start of it all.
Niall auditioned with ‘So Sick’ in front of 4 judges (Simon, Cheryl, Louis and guest judge Katy Perry).
Katy said that Niall was adorable and should work on it as he was only 16.
Simon thought that he was unprepared and came with the wrong song, but he still liked him.
Cheryl said that for 16 he had a lot of charm but the song was too big for him.
Louis thought that Niall had something and that he was likeable.
He got a yes from Simon and Louis, a no from Cheryl which meant it was left to the guest judge to give the final decision. Katy did say he’s not ready and likeableness alone isn’t going to sell records, it requires talent, which she then went on to say that he had a seed of it. Katy’s yes put him through to Bootcamp.
Although Bradford based Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson from Doncaster have not got their auditions on The X Factor website, I have been informed that Zayn auditioned with ‘Let Me Love You’ by Mario and Louis sang ‘Hey There Delilah’ by The Plain White T’s.
Obviously there is no way of finding out what the judges said but seeing as they are where they are now, they were obviously good enough to go through to Bootcamp.
While the 5 were at Bootcamp, they learnt that they not only had to sing for their place at Judges Houses, but dance for it too. When the time came for Zayn to dance in front of the judges, he was nowhere to be seen and was sat backstage, too embarrassed to dance. Simon saw he was missing and went backstage to talk him round and finally got him on stage to dance.
When it came to putting through the acts that would sing at Judges Houses, all 5 of their dreams were shattered when they got a no, however the judges had a twist, an experiment if you will, seeing if these 5 boys would work as a boy band.
When they got called back to the stage they found out the judges idea and were put through to the next round, Harry described it as going from the worst feeling of your life to the best. On that day, 26th September 2010, One Direction were formed.
At Judges Houses, their mentor was Simon Cowell and they had to impress him, along with Sinitta, and show them that what he did was the right choice and that 5 solo artists could mesh together, form a boy band and win.
The song that they performed was Natalie Imbruglia’s ‘Torn’.
With Liam and Harry on lead vocals and Zayn, Niall and Louis on backing vocals, they sang for their future and it was delivered perfectly, with many One Direction fans wanting them to release it as a single.
Harry said, while waiting on Simon’s verdict ‘The hunger for it (getting through) grows and grows as you get to each stage in the competition and this is the biggest stage to be told yes or no. It’s one word that can change your life forever because it won’t be the same if you get a yes and if you get a no then you’re straight back to doing stuff that, kind of, drives you to come here in the first place.’
Luckily, Simon put them through to the live shows saying that when it worked, it worked.
The First week was Number 1’s Week and the newest boyband on the scene performed ‘Viva La Vida’ by Coldplay. They performed it well; it was just them, no fancy production, no dancers, just them and their voices. Cheryl said they had all the right ingredients and Dannii said it was the perfect pop band performance. Louis Walsh (who is famous for his boy bands) said that they were potentially the next big boy band. With those comments fresh in their mind, One Direction went through to Week 2.
The theme for week 2 was Heroes and the band sang Kelly Clarkson’s ‘My Life Would Suck Without You’ which sets hearts racing across the country, every fan thinking they were singing it for them.
There was now an obvious bond in the group and it showed on stage while delivering an awesome performance along with, what is now known as ‘Style Shoulder Shake’.
Cheryl had the quote of the night ‘I can’t even cope with how cute you are, seriously! I just want to go up and hug them...In a nice way.’
With a rocking performance they were through to Week 3.
For week number 3 the theme was Guilty Pleasures and One Direction were set to perform the Katy Perry hit ‘Teenage Dream’ but when they performed it in rehearsals apparently something didn’t sound right, so at the last minute they changed their song choice to ‘Nobody Knows’ by Pink.
With Liam starting off the song and joined by the rest of the band at the chorus, it was amazing and the ballad that Dannii had said she wanted. When it got to the middle eighth, Harry sang a small but perfect solo, winking at the camera to get all the girls on side, then on to the final chorus and Zayn ending the song.
Louis described them as 5 Justin Biebers, Dannii was unsure how Pink was a Guilty Pleasure, even though she knew that it was a last minute song change, Cheryl said that One Direction are her Guilty Pleasure. Thanks to the public vote the boy band were through to Week 4.
Week 4 was Halloween and One Direction sang ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’, one of the classic power ballads.
Liam started the song with occasional backing from the rest of the band and then they all came in for the chorus that everyone was singing along to and Zayn finishing the song off.
Dannii said that they are a boy band doing exactly what a boy band should do.
With that they were through to Week 5.
For the fifth week, the show theme was American Anthems and the guys sang Kim Wilde’s ‘Kids in America’ and although the song wasn’t an American Anthem (as Louis ’Rulebook’ Walsh pointed out many times), they still managed to pull off an upbeat performance along with loads of cheerleaders, quite frankly it was a miracle they didn’t get distracted and forget their words, but the fact they didn’t get sidetracked shows how professional and mature they can be. The performance really brightened up Cheryl’s night and Simon said that it was their best performance by far. The public agreed and put them through to Week 6.
The following week the theme was Elton John and One Direction looked very smart in their attire with the odd bit of glitz to go with the theme. They sang ‘Something about the Way You Look Tonight’ and although the song is originally dedicated to Gianni Versace, every single wanted the 5 heartthrobs (as Dannii had described them) to be singing it about them.
Harry had a full solo this time, making a lot of fans very happy, as they had wanted this for quite some time.
Simon said that this was the first time he genuinely thought a band if going to win.
The public loved the performance so much that they picked up their phones, voted and put them in to the next week.
The next week was Beatles week and the group sang ‘All You Need is Love’.
With the 5 guys standing on a raised stage, they put their own current twist on it, turning it into a slightly more poppy rocky song. Liam started the song of with his perfect vocal and then Harry got yet another solo, I don’t think the fans would ever tire of that, and then they were joined a whole group of dancers jumping around behind them below the raised stage like it was a gig. It was an odd thing to throw in at the last minute, but it worked.
Everybody loved their version of it and voted and put them through to the next stage of the competition.
Week 8 was Rock Week and One Direction had to sing not one, but two songs to secure their place in the Semi Final. They chose to sing the Bryan Adams hit ‘Summer Of 69’ and they pulled it off with pure rock style, I am sure Harry was happy about that to as it was his song choice, possibly due to the fact that he had performed it with his old band.
The second song may not have seemed like a rock song, but Simon assured everyone that Joe Cocker, who sang ‘You Are So Beautiful’, was a rock singer.
They sang it flawlessly, Liam sang, Harry sang and Zayn sang while Niall and Louis provided backing vocals. The cameraman either knew what he was doing, or had a crush on Harry as it seemed the camera was on him for the majority of the song, Harry however used this to his advantage and stared straight down the camera in to the eyes of everyone watching, hearts melted, tears were shed. Dannii described it as stunning and that is exactly what it was.
Louis described them as not just a boy band, but a brilliant vocal group.
Everyone who loved One Directions performances dried their eyes, to see the numbers on their phones, and voted them through to the Semi-Final.
Semi-Final was also Club Classics week. One Direction performed the recent hit by Rihanna, ‘Only Girl in the World’. The lyrics were altered of course as I think them singing that they want to be the only girl in the world, would spark gender confusion. They sang, they bopped round the stage, and yes, the ‘Styles Shoulder Shake’ returned. A brilliant performance that got everyone on their feet.
For their ‘Get Me to the Final’ song, they picked a beyond perfect song, Snow Patrol’s ‘Chasing Cars’. Liam sang the lead vocal while Harry took the lead in the chorus with Niall, Zayn, Louis and Liam backing him up. It was heart warming and just perfect. It came to Sunday night and you could tell how much they wanted to be through to the final, the first name was called ‘ONE DIRECTION!’ They are Finalists.
When they auditioned separately and not getting through as solo artists, Harry, Liam, Niall, Zayn and Louis all thought that their dreams were over, until they got given a second chance, to be a boy band.
They are 5 bright teenagers, who can be rather mature and dedicated when they need to be, also they can sing & entertain which is what this competition is all about.
In the short time they have been a band they have bonded and are now best friends, but even better than that, you’ve seen how good they have gotten in this small amount of time, just imagine what they would be like a year from now, they would all have progress massively. They will be, sorry, ARE one of the hottest boy bands in the country.
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