‘The X Factor’ Shows How One Direction Was Formed – Billboard

One Direction might not have existed without Nicole Scherzinger.

Unseen footage of how the group was put together in 2010 has been released that shows Scherzinger had a big say in their formation. The five singers — Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson — had auditioned as solo artists on the show before being put into a boy band.

“When you’ve waited TWELVE YEARS to find out exactly how @onedirection was formed,” the official X Factor account tweeted on Saturday (July 23). “FINALLY, here’s how.”

The X Factor shared a video on YouTube that showed an assortment of photos of candidates being sorted on a table. Niall Horan was the first selection for the group that came to be known as One Direction.

Styles was chosen next. When his photo came up in the pile, Scherzinger immediately decided, “Oh, yes. Put him with him.”

“They’re the cutest boy band ever,” she said as Louis Tomlinson was added to the group she was assembling on the table. “I love it.”

“The little girls are gonna love them,” she added.

Scherzinger pointed out, “They’re just too talented to get rid of. They’ve got just the right look and the right charisma onstage. I think they’ll be really great in a boy band together. They’re like little stars. You can’t get rid of little stars, you know? So you put ’em all together.”

She soon added Payne’s photo to the group, despite Cowell’s uncertainty.

“I think that he would definitely shine. He could actually maybe be the leader,” said Scherzinger, while Cowell commented, “He thinks he’s better than anyone else.”

Cowell showed more excitement about adding Malik to the five-piece: “Zayn. Now that is a good idea.”

The group went on to find great success together before going on a hiatus, with four No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and six top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.

See how it all went down in the video below.