In 2010, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson auditioned as solo candidates for the seventh series of British television reality singing competition The X Factor.[5] Failing to progress to the "Boys" category at "judges' houses", after a suggestion by guest judge Nicole Scherzinger,[5] they were put together to form a five-piece boy band at Wembley Arena, London, England, July 2010, during the "bootcamp" stage of the competition,[6]
thus qualifying for the "Groups" category. Subsequently, the group got
together for two weeks to get to know each other and to practise.[7][8] Styles came up with the name One Direction.[7] For their qualifying song at "judges' houses", and their first song as a group, One Direction sang an acoustic version of "Torn".[9] In the live shows within four weeks, they were Simon Cowell's last act in the competition.[10] The group quickly gained popularity in the UK.[4] One Direction finished in third place and immediately after the final, their song "Forever Young", which would have been released if they had won The X Factor, was leaked onto the internet.[11] Shortly afterwards it was confirmed, One Direction had been signed by Cowell to a reported £2 million Syco Records record contract.[12][13] Recording for their debut album began in January 2011, as they flew to Los Angeles to work with producer RedOne.[14] A One Direction-licensed book, One Direction: Forever Young (Our Official X Factor Story), was published by HarperCollins in February 2011,[15] subsequently topping The Sunday Times Best Seller list.[16] The same month, the boy band and other contestants from the series participated in the X Factor Live Tour.[17] The tour saw the group performing for 500,000 people throughout the UK.[18] After the tour concluded in April 2011, the group continued working on their debut album.[14] Recording took place in Stockholm, London, and Los Angeles, as One Direction worked with producers Carl Falk, Savan Kotecha, Steve Mac, and Rami Yacoub, among others.[19][20]In 2010, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson auditioned as solo candidates for the seventh series of British television reality singing competition The X Factor.[5] Failing to progress to the "Boys" category at "judges' houses", after a suggestion by guest judge Nicole Scherzinger,[5] they were put together to form a five-piece boy band at Wembley Arena, London, England, July 2010, during the "bootcamp" stage of the competition,[6]
thus qualifying for the "Groups" category. Subsequently, the group got
together for two weeks to get to know each other and to practise.[7][8] Styles came up with the name One Direction.[7] For their qualifying song at "judges' houses", and their first song as a group, One Direction sang an acoustic version of "Torn".[9] In the live shows within four weeks, they were Simon Cowell's last act in the competition.[10] The group quickly gained popularity in the UK.[4] One Direction finished in third place and immediately after the final, their song "Forever Young", which would have been released if they had won The X Factor, was leaked onto the internet.[11] Shortly afterwards it was confirmed, One Direction had been signed by Cowell to a reported £2 million Syco Records record contract.[12][13] Recording for their debut album began in January 2011, as they flew to Los Angeles to work with producer RedOne.[14] A One Direction-licensed book, One Direction: Forever Young (Our Official X Factor Story), was published by HarperCollins in February 2011,[15] subsequently topping The Sunday Times Best Seller list.[16] The same month, the boy band and other contestants from the series participated in the X Factor Live Tour.[17] The tour saw the group performing for 500,000 people throughout the UK.[18] After the tour concluded in April 2011, the group continued working on their debut album.[14] Recording took place in Stockholm, London, and Los Angeles, as One Direction worked with producers Carl Falk, Savan Kotecha, Steve Mac, and Rami Yacoub, among others.[19][20]
