Harry Styles became unlikely friends with a TV producer and lived in the producer’s attic In fact, during those early days, the celebrity had to live in someone’s attic. One Direction might have become a global phenomenon, but Styles didn’t know it when he was first starting out on The X Factor. The debut album was an immediate success, and their follow-up album Take Me Home came out the next year.Īccording to an analysis by Yahoo! Entertainment, One Direction’s blockbuster sales meant they had “two of the year’s top five albums,” an accomplishment that no other band or artist had ever achieved before.

Shortly after, they released 2011’s Up All Night. The group finished third in that season of The X Factor. “He put Styles together with four others who’d failed to advance in the same category, and united the members of One D in a musical shotgun marriage.

“Simon Cowell, the show’s creator, sensed a crowd favorite” in Styles, adds Rolling Stone. “In a surprise move, judges Nicole Scherzinger and Simon Cowell put 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,” explains. Styles, along with his future bandmates Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson, all failed to qualify to continue in the solo Boys category and were eliminated by the X Factor judges. RELATED: One Direction Ages: How Old Were the Band Members When They Auditioned for ‘The X Factor’? Simon Cowell chose Harry Styles to be a part of One Direction “Someone in the audience just said ‘rubbish’ and I totally agree with them,” quipped Cowell.ĭespite his negative remarks, Cowell and the other judges had a surprise for Styles. Irish music manager Louis Walsh, another X Factor judge, said: “I think you’re so young, I don’t think you have enough experience or confidence yet.”īut the harshest criticism came from judge Simon Cowell. “For 16 years old you have a beautiful voice,” said X Factor judge Nicole Scherzinger after Styles finished his performance, as quoted in The Sun. However, Styles’ performances did not impress the judges. “ competed in the seventh season of the television show The X Factor, singing Stevie Wonder’s ‘Isn’t She Lovely’ as his audition song,” explains the outlet. His big break came when he was 16 years old. “Styles was White Eskimo’s lead singer, and the band was popular enough to win a band competition at their school,” reports. Harry Styles started performing music from a young age, and in high school, the musician formed a band called White Eskimo.

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