The X-Factor
In 2010, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson auditioned as solo candidates for the seventh series of the British televised singing competition The X-Factor They failed to progress to the "Boys" category at "Judges House", and, after a suggestion by Nicole Scherzinger , a guest judge, they were put together to form a five-piece boy band at Wembley Arena , in London, England, in July 2010, during the "boot camp" stage of the competition, thus qualifying for the "Groups" category. Subsequently, the group got together for two weeks to get to know each other and to practice. Styles came up with the name One Direction. For their qualifying song at "judges' houses", and their first song as a group, One Direction sang an acoustic version of "Torn" Simon Cowell later commented that the performance convinced him that the group "were confident, fun, like a gang of friends, and kind of fearless as well." Within the first four weeks of the Live Shows they were Cowell's last act in the competition. The group quickly gained popularity in the UK.
One Direction finished in third place and immediately after the final, their song "Forever Young", which would have been released if they had won The X Factor, was leaked onto the internet. Shortly afterwards it was confirmed that One Direction had been signed by Cowell to a reported 2 million syco record contract. Recording for their debut album began in January 2011, as they flew to Los Angeles to work with Red One, a record producer. A book licensed by One Direction, One Direction: Forever Young (Our Official X Factor Story), was published by Harper Collins in February 2011,subsequently topping the Sunday times bestseller list. The same month, the boy band and other contestants from the series participated in the X Factor Live Tour. During the tour the group performed for 500,000 people throughout the UK. After the tour concluded in April 2011, the group continued working on their debut album.