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The X Factor (UK) is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. One Direction appeared in 2010 during the seventh season as individual contestants. The season aired on ITV from August 21, 2010 to December 12, 2010.
Premise
The X Factor was created by Simon Cowell in September 2004 and features singers chosen from public auditions. The winner for the seventh series would receive a £1 million recording contract with the Syco Music record label. It was hosted by Dermot O'Leary, with the spin-off show The Xtra Factor currently being hosted by Caroline Flack and Olly Murs on ITV2.
2010
- Main article: The X Factor (Season 7)
Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, and Zayn Malik auditioned as solo artists. All five boys made it through to bootcamp. However, at the end of bootcamp, none of the boys had their name called out for judges' house. As the boys category prepared to leave, Harry, Liam, Louis, Niall, and Zayn were called back. Since the groups category was the weakest, it had been decided that five rejected soloists from the Boys category and four from the Girls category would be asked to form two groups. The boys agreed to move forward in the competition as a group. They decided on the name One Direction. Simon was assigned as their mentor. At judges' house, One Direction performed "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia, and moved on to the live shows.
2011
One Direction appeared on The X Factor on November 13, 2011 for the sixth week of the live shows. They performed their new single, "Gotta Be You". On November 27, 2011, they returned to perform the charity single "Wishing on a Star" with the finalists and JLS. During the season eight live final on December 10, 2011, One Direction performed alongside JLS in a "mash-up" performance. JLS began the performance with "She Makes Me Wanna". One Direction then joined them with "What Makes You Beautiful". At the end both groups sang alternating between both songs.
2012
On October 6, 2012, One Direction made a surprise guest appearance during the first live show. They had a short interview with Dermot O'Leary where they touched on how they felt when they were on The X Factor, and advice they have for the current contestants, On November 6, 2012 during the sixth week of live shows, a pre-recorded performance of "Little Things" was aired.