One Direction X Factor auditions ranked: From Liam Payne winking at Cheryl to Zayn Malik’s awkward dancing

As we celebrate 10 years of 1D, we took a look back of the boys in their early days
Kimberley Bond23 July 2020
The Weekender

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It’s a happy day for all the Directioners out there, as One Direction celebrates a big ten years since they first formed.

Having all auditioned as individuals on The X Factor in 2010, it was Nicole Scherzinger’s brainwave that Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson would work better together as a boyband – and became one of the best-loved groups of all-time.

They may not have won The X Factor (they only placed third next to Rebecca Ferguson and Matt Cardle) but they certainly won our hearts, selling millions of records worldwide and becoming international superstars.

But they weren’t always the multimillionaire household names that we’ve come to know them as – once, they were just five ordinary teenagers hoping to make it big.

One Direction thrill 15,000 screaming fans at free concert as they announce 3D film

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To celebrate a decade of 1D, we looked back at the boys at the very beginning…

6. Louis Tomlinson

At 18, Tomlinson was one of the older boys in the band when they first started out. With his long emo-inspired side-fringe, he won over judges with his stripped-back take on Plain White T’s love-song Hey There Delilah. Winning three yesses from Louis Walsh, Nicole Scherzinger and Simon Cowell, Tomlinson was straight through to bootcamp – and the rest was history.

5. Niall Horan

With his thick Irish accent and cheeky chappy charm, 16-year-old Horan had the brash confidence only a teenage boy can have.

Speaking before his audition, he boldly told viewers at home: “I want to be among the big names in the world, like Beyoncé.

A young Niall wanted to be Ireland's Justin Bieber
ITV

“I want to sell out arenas.”

However, Horan didn’t have such a good time up on stage as he would have hoped, with his version of Ne-Yo’s So Sick not hitting the spot.

After Cheryl told Horan no, Cowell rather damningly told the hopeful: “You’re unprepared, you’re not as good as you thought you were…”

However, he decided to give the singer a chance: “And yet, I like you. I’m saying yes.”

4. Zayn Malik

Arguably the coolest and most aloof member of 1D, Zayn Malik showcased his velvet voice in his first audition after performing Mario's Let Me Love You.

However, if you were hoping Malik had the smooth moves to match his voice, you'd have been very much mistaken.

A then 17-year-old Malik almost walked out of the X Factor entirely after struggling to learn a dance routine.

One Direction's Zayn Malik - In pictures

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"I seriously don't want to do it," he said backstage. "I hate dancing and I've never done it before. I just feel like an idiot."

Luckily, Cowell talked him round and Malik made it through to the final stages of the competition - though we've not seen his dance moves since (and for good reason, some might argue).

3. Harry Styles

From his cheeky grin and curly hair to Madness’s House of Fun playing throughout his VT, it was clear right from the very start that 16-year-old Harry was going to be a star – though not even Styles himself could have predicted how hugely successful he was going to turn out to be.

Discussing his time in local band White Eskimo, Styles said: “Performing in front of all those people gave me such a thrill. It made me want to do it more and more.”

Harry Styles greets fans outside BBC studios - In Pictures

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Just before he gave his a cappella take on Stevie Wonder’s Isn’t She Lovely, Styles revealed he worked in a bakery and was heading to college to take A-Levels in Law, Sociology and Business – but his entire life changed direction (see what we did there?) after he sung.

While Louis Walsh wasn’t too impressed (and even told him no!) Nicole Scherzinger and Simon Cowell were taken with Styles – and 10 years on, he’s now thought to be worth $75 million.

2. Liam Payne

Liam first auditioned for the X Factor aged just 14
ITV

While it was his 2010 audition which changed the course of his life forever, Payne first auditioned for The X Factor two years earlier, aged just 14.

Wearing jeans and a little waistcoat (the height of late Noughties fashion), he impressed the judges with his take on Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me to the Moon – complete with cheeky wink at Cheryl.

“I think you’re fun, I think you’re really cute and you’ve got charisma, you gave us that little cheeky wink,” his future girlfriend said at the time.

However, after failing to make the live shows, Payne returned to cover Michael Bublé’s Cry Me a River, and got a standing ovation from all the judges – bar Cheryl, funnily enough.

1. One Direction’s first official performance

The boys first performed as a quintet at judges' houses(ITV)

History was made when the boys were put together in one group by Nicole Scherzinger and Simon Cowell, after they all failed to make it to the judges houses stage as solo acts.

Their a cappella version of Natalie Imbruglia’s Torn impressed mentor Cowell, and saw them head straight through to the live shows - where they won legions of fans

Here’s to you, One Direction!

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