Harry Styles & Niall Horan: The Biography - Choose Your Favourite Member of One Direction. Sarah Oliver
& Rogues sang ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’
Some of the groups who had been favourites to go through didn’t impress Simon and Sinitta in their performances, whereas others, like One Direction, had excelled. Picking the top three to go through was very difficult.
After considering the options, Simon made his final decision and called in each group, one at a time, to let them know whether they would be going to the live shows or going home. When it was One Direction’s turn, Harry led the way, with the others following behind him. They all lined up next to each other, their arms around each other’s shoulders for support and in a sign of unity. ‘Do you understand why I did this in the first place?’ Simon asked. ‘Yes,’ they replied. ‘I think it’s because once we got through to the bootcamp stage, there were weaknesses, which is why we made the decision about all of you individually,’ he continued. ‘To a point, you came in at a disadvantage because you didn’t have the time the other groups had. On the more positive note, when it works, it worked.
‘My head is saying it’s a risk and my heart is saying that you deserve a shot. And that’s why it’s been difficult. So I’ve made a decision, guys – I’ve gone with my heart, you’re through!’
The boys started screaming and then had a massive group hug. They had done it! Harry couldn’t contain his excitement and leaving the others, ran over to hug Simon, closely followed by Niall and Zayn, Louis and Liam; Harry even had tears in his eyes again, only this time they were tears of happiness rather than rejection. Simon told them, ‘I am so impressed with all of you; I mean that.’
The boys were so excited, but they had to take care not to upset the groups who had just been told they weren’t good enough and were going home. Harry couldn’t wait to ring and tell his excited family the good news: they were going to be performing every Saturday night, with 11 million people watching at home! They were one step closer to landing a recording deal.
The boys could briefly go home to see their families but then they had to be back in London so they could prepare for the first live show. Everything was still under wraps because the judges’ houses TV episodes hadn’t been shown and the media were desperate to know who was through – but if people found out it would ruin the surprise. Harry’s mum loaned him some money so that he could buy some new clothes, as the X Factor camera crew were going to be following them every day and he didn’t have enough of a wardrobe. He’d been used to wearing school uniform Monday to Friday, and some of his clothes weren’t suitable for a budding pop star.
For the actual live shows the boys had stylists, who would fill a rack with suitable garments for them, and Harry could choose whatever he wanted to wear. He picked clothes that matched what the others were wearing but at the same time showed off his personality. Sometimes the bandmates would choose their own clothes but during the final rehearsals the stylists or someone else from the X Factor team would say it wasn’t working and they’d have to go for other outfits. The band wore clothes that went well together but weren’t identical.
Harry moved into the X Factor house with the other 15 acts the day after his audition was shown on TV, and because of this he started to be recognised. For him, the X Factor journey had started months ago, but for the general public it was only just beginning and they were still waiting to see whether he made it through bootcamp. Living in the house were three acts from each category, plus a wildcard. The property was a £3.5 million mansion near Borehamwood in north London and it was like nothing Harry had ever seen before. To get to it, the contestants had to go along a private road, and the X Factor production team had hired security guards to prevent any overexcited fans from trespassing. It was in a more rural location than the houses chosen in previous years because of the noise of fans screaming for the contestants to come out and meet them, day and night.
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Harry and the rest of One Direction loved the beanbag room in the X Factor house, which had an L-shaped couch, huge beanbags to sit on, a big TV, a table tennis table and a Wii. Harry also liked the music room, which had a jukebox and a piano for when they wanted to rehearse together or just chill out to some music.
During the week, when they were rehearsing, Harry would wear casual, comfortable clothing that still looked good but didn’t restrict him. Because his mum wasn’t there to help him, he had to wash and iron his own clothes in the house, as well as having to cook. Harry loved the OnePiece Norwegian jumpsuits they were given: his was white and it was like wearing a big babygro. He would zip the hood up and run around and no one could work out who he was, apart from the other members of One Direction because they had one too (Liam’s was blue, Zayn’s was green, Louis had grey and Niall’s featured an American Stars and Stripes design).
One day, Harry was knocked over by overexcited fans on his way to the studio. He and the others had just got out of a car and were heading for the studio door when it happened. The fans didn’t mean to do it; they were just really excited to see him. As soon as Harry fell, Liam shouted over to check that his bandmate was okay; he wanted to help him to his feet but he couldn’t because there were so many fans crowded around him. Harry managed to stand up and made it to the studio, still smiling away as if nothing had happened. It was at moments like these that he must have thought how his life had changed – he was in school one minute and the next, he was being followed by hundreds of girls, all wanting his autograph!
On his first night in the house, Harry joined in a singsong with the other contestants. Matt Cardle played guitar and they all relaxed and got to know each other a bit better. Although they would be competing against each other once the live shows started, they were determined to be friends. As the weeks went by it would prove tougher, as Harry would have to say goodbye to some good friends, but at least he’d still have Niall, Zayn, Liam and Louis.
At their first ever press conference, Harry admitted to GMTV: ‘The house is always pretty loud. You have your messy people and your tidy people, but it’s really good living with all the boys. I miss my mum a little bit, though.’
Having to share a bedroom helped the boys to bond, but it was difficult trying to fit in all their stuff. Louis told the backstage cameras: ‘Living in the contestants’ house, it’s good to be in a group ’cos if we ever have any problems, or on the flip side, if we’re up for a laugh, then I’ve got four other lads to turn to, so it’s great.
‘We all stay in the same room: it’s pretty much what you’d expect from five teenage lads – it’s an absolute tip most of the time!’
The boys and girls had separate bathrooms in the house, which meant that the girls kept theirs clean but the boys’ had boxer shorts, clothes and empty drink cartons scattered about.
Harry and his fellow bandmates loved their newfound independence and had loads of fun. Liam summed up what living in the house was like to the Shropshire Star. ‘It’s different,’ he said. ‘If you don’t get to see it and experience it first-hand, you wouldn’t understand what it’s like. It’s so much fun. There is never a dull moment, and it is always loud in the house. That’s usually probably coming from our band! Everyone has such a great time and it is surprising how well everybody gets on because at the end of the day, it is a competition, but everybody gets on great.’
As the weeks went on and acts started to leave the competition some bedrooms became available, so Liam and Zayn decided to move into their own room, leaving Harry, Niall and Louis in the original one. It made sense, because they were so cramped; they had accumulated more and more stuff as the weeks went by. Harry had even been given free clothes to wear by a Covent Garden store hoping for some exposure.
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Niall says his most