ONE DIRECTION BIOGRAPHY

In a history-making moment, five boys who had failed to qualify for the Boys Category of UK’s The X-Factor in its seventh season had been given a suggestion by one of the show’s guest judges Pussycats lead chanteuse Nicole Scherzinger – what about becoming and joining The X-Factor as a group?

And with that, ONE DIRECTION was born. After five months of intense practice before the competition, the band – who had the youngest members in the show – took third place, finishing behind Rebecca Ferguson and the season’s winner Matt Cardle.

Niall James Horan

Birthday: September 13, 1993

Residence: Mullingar, Ireland

Horan is frequently described as the “cute” one in the band. His parents are divorced and he and his older brother had initially divided their lives between the two before eventually settling in with their father. He had attended an all-boys’ Christian school and had been part of a choir. While riding the car with his aunt and father, his aunt had mistaken Horan’s voice for someone singing from the radio. Horan considers Michael Bublé as one of his greatest inspirations together with Bon Jovi, Frank Sinatra, and The Eagles.

Zayn Malik

Birthday: January 12, 1993

Residence: West Lane, England

Described frequently as the “quiet and mysterious” member of the group, Malik is half-English and half-Pakistani. He also has three sisters. He had problems fitting in at the first two schools he attended because of his mixed background. One of his “dream collaborations” would be with Bruno Mars. His brief relationship with fellow X-Factor and second-placer Rebecca Ferguson had caused quite a sensation due to the 6-year difference in their ages.

 

Liam Payne

Birthday: August 29, 1993

Residence: Wolverhampton, Englnd

Payne has two older sisters and is frequently described as the most “sensible” member of the band. A part of his childhood was spent with regular visits to the hospital when he was diagnosed of having dysfunctional and scarred kidneys. Payne also had to endure more than thirty injections every morning and night to cope with the pain. He also received boxing lessons to cope with bullying tactics in school. He considers Justin Timberlake as one of his greatest influences. He is currently dating dancer Danielle Peazer, whom he had met on the show.

Harry Styles

Birthday: February 1, 1994

Residence: Evesham, England

Described as the “charming” member of the group, Styles has one older sister. As a child, Styles had admitted to taking it hard when his parents divorced but was also pleased when his now-stepfather Robin Twist had proposed to his mother.

Prior to becoming a part of ONE DIRECTION, Styles had been the lead singer of another band, White Eskimo, and which had won a Battle of the Bands contest. He considers Elvis Presley as one of his largest influences but also likes The Beatles, Coldplay, and Foster the People.

The brief time he had dated TV presenter Caroline Flack had also stirred up controversy because of the 15-year age gap between them. He now lives with ONE DIRECTION co-band member Tomlinson in London.

Louis Tomlinson

Birthday: December 24, 1991

Residence: Doncaster, England

Tomlinson is the oldest in the group and is also described as the band’s “funny” one. When his parents separated and his mother had remarried, Tomlinson had taken his stepfather’s last name. He has 4 younger step-sisters. Prior to joining The X Factor, Tomlinson enjoyed bit roles in Waterloo Road of BBC and If I Had You of ITV1.

He considers Robbie Williams as his idol and greatest influence, whom he described as being one of the nicest artists he had met when performing with the band on reality TV singing competition. He is now dating Eleanor Calder, a student in Manchester University. He admits to being heartbroken when his mother and stepfather broke the news about their intention to get a divorce.