One Direction

One Direction are a British-Irish boy band, consisting of members Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson. They finished third on the seventh series of The X Factor. Following The X Factor, the group signed a record contract with Sony Music subsidiary Syco Music.
One Direction's debut single "What Makes You Beautiful" was released on 11 September 2011. The single debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number one on 18 September 2011, shifting 153,965 copies, becoming the third fastest selling single of 2011.^[1][2] Their second single, "Gotta Be You", was released on 13 November 2011, which peaked at number three.^[3] Their debut album Up All Night was released on 21 November 2011. The album peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart, selling 138,631 copies,^[4] and was the fastest-selling debut album on the UK Albums Chart of 2011.^[5] Up All Night was the sixteenth biggest selling album on the UK Albums Chart of 2011, with 468,000 copies sold.^[6]

Members

Niall Horan

Niall Horan, born on 13 September 1993 (age 18), is from Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland. He was a pupil at Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar, a boys' CBS secondary school.^[38] Horan auditioned with "So Sick" and received mixed comments from judges present at his audition, with Louis Walsh in his favour. While two other judges having doubts on whether he was ready to progress in the competition. With three votes out of four he was sent to bootcamp. At bootcamp, he sang "Champagne Supernova" before being rejected and put into One Direction. Horan also plays the guitar.

Zayn Malik

Zayn Malik, born on 12 January 1993 (age 19), is from West Lane Baildon, Bradford, UK.^[39] He is British Pakistani. He is a pupil at Tong High School, a state comprehensive school.^[40] His audition was initially not broadcast, but was shown after the series ended on companion show The Xtra Factor. Malik was noted for becoming nervous in bootcamp, and when he was told he had to dance, he decided to remain backstage, effectively running the risk of elimination. Cowell noticed Malik missing from the dance routine and went backstage and convinced him to return.^[41] Malik dated fellow X Factor contestant, Rebecca Ferguson, which caused controversy because of the six year age difference. The relationship ended after 4 months together. In November 2011, Ferguson stated the following in an interview: "Me and Zayn just grew apart. I wish him all the best."^[42]

Liam Payne

Liam Payne, born on 29 August 1993 (age 18), is from Wolverhampton, West Midlands, UK. He is a music technology student at City of Wolverhampton College, a Further Education College.^[43] Payne had auditioned in 2008 to The X Factor's fifth series when he was 14 and reached judges' houses, but Cowell thought he was not ready for the competition and asked him to come back in two years.^[43] This time Payne auditioned singing "Cry Me a River" and received a standing ovation from the audience and Simon Cowell.

Harry Styles

Harry Styles, born on 1 February 1994 (age 18), is from Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, UK and is a pupil at Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, a state comprehensive school.^[44] Styles was the lead singer for the band White Eskimo with band members lead guitarist Haydn Morris, bass guitarist Nick Clough and drummer Will Sweeny.^[44] Styles auditioned with "Isn't She Lovely" and received positive comments from two of the three judges present at his audition, with Louis Walsh having doubts on whether he was ready to progress in the competition. At bootcamp, he sang "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" before being rejected and put into One Direction. Styles dated eight series The Xtra Factor host Caroline Flack which caused wide spread media controversy over the age gap. Flack (age 32) being fifteen years older than Styles (age 17) at the time.^[45] In January 2012, The Sun reported Styles, had dumped Flack because their relationship was getting too serious.^[46] Styles denied the claims, confirming the break-up was mutual on his Twitter account, "Please know I didn't 'dump' caroline. This was a mutual decision. She is one of the kindest, sweetest people I know. Please respect that."^[47]

Louis Tomlinson

Louis Tomlinson, born on 24 December 1991 (age 20),^[48] is from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, UK. He was a sixth form student at Hall Cross School, a state comprehensive school, and a previous pupil at The Hayfield School.^[49] Tomlinson auditioned for The X Factor with the song "Hey There Delilah", and received three votes from the three judges. At bootcamp, he sang "Make You Feel My Love" before being rejected and put into One Direction.