One Direction - VEntertainmentOnline.com

One Direction Biography

They were five students who entered the X-Factor as individual artists but failed to make it to the live shows.

But Simon Cowell saw something in the boys and did not want to let them go. After discussion with his fellow judges they came up with the idea of putting them together as a boy band and gave them the name "One Direction".

This was a smart move on Cowell's part as the five teenagers immediately captured the hearts of every teenage girl in the country, especially Harry Styles, the 16-year-old cheeky lad with the dark curly hair.

Week after week the boys were voted in and made it right through to the Final. They were up against tough competition from the constant viewers' favourite Matt Cardle and the dark horse of the show Rebecca Ferguson.

They knew all along Cardle was their biggest rival with 17-year-old Liam Payne saying "On the first night in the house when we got to the live shows we just sat around with a guitar, Matt was singing and it was really good."

Payne got a standing ovation from the Birmingham crowd at his first audition and the judges were stunned at the crowd's reaction. He had auditioned for the fifth series of X-Factor in 2008 when he was 14-years-old. Cowell thought he was not ready and told him to return in two years time.

In 2010 he got through to boot camp but failed to impress the judges with his rendition of Oasis' "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" and he did not make the final eight.

When they were put together as "One Direction" Payne, now 17, said "It was kind of hard to start off because we were all thrown together and we had such a short space of time to get to know each other. But we all get along so well, and we're all living together now and it is amazing."

Louis Tomlinson is the eldest, at 18-years-old and comes from Doncaster. Before X-Factor he was a student at Hall Cross School.

Irish lad Niall Horan is 16-years-ld and comes from Mullingar where he is studying at Coláiste Mhuire.

The people's favourite Harry Styles, also 16-years-old comes from Holmes Chapel in Cheshire and was a student at the local comprehensive school. Wherever the band went it was Harry's autograph the girls were after.

He said he was having a great time in the artists' house. "The house is always pretty loud, you have your messy people and your tidy people but it is really good living with all the boys. I miss my mum a little bit though."

17-year-old Zayn Malik is a Muslim of mixed Pakistani/British origin from East Bowling in Bradford. Every week his parents would travel from, Bradford to watch the live show and support their son.

He lost it at boot camp when he refused to come on stage when asked to dance. He said he was too nervous and stayed backstage, risking elimination. It was Simon Cowell who went to find him and persuaded him to return, otherwise he might not have been part of "One Direction".

The first song they ever sang together was an acoustic version of Ednaswap's "Torn" made famous by Natalie Imbruglia.

The band have a lot of celebrity fans. When Robbie Williams sang with them at the Final he said "I have 12 months with Take That then 3 years with One Direction".

Former winner Alexandra Burke really loves them "They remind me of five little Justin Biebers and I think the girls are going to go wild for them" she said.

Although they only came 3rd Louis Walsh has predicted them to be "the next big boy band" but Simon Cowell is keeping quiet about whether he intends to sign them up.