It may be hard to believe, but it’s been 12 years since one of the biggest boybands in the world was formed on The X Factor: One Direction. And to celebrate the anniversary of the group’s formation, the UK singing competition not only posted a never-before-seen video detailing how exactly the boys were chosen to be in a group together but also Harry Styles’ full audition for the first time. And surprisingly, the crowd was not exactly as hyped to see the performer as many are today.
In the video posted by The X Factor UK, a charming 16-year-old Harry Styles sung Train’s hit “Hey, Soul Sister.” Unfortunately, Simon Cowell was not very impressed, and the crowd was as silent as can be. In true Styles fashion, he was still smiling the entire time, despite playing to a quiet audience. Luckily, the tough-as-nails judge gave Styles another chance to sing without music and, of course, the rest is history. Check it out below:
I definitely can’t get over the fact that the crowd was dead silent during some of Harry Styles’ performance, and it’s even more ironic considering he’s arguably become the most successful of his former bandmates, career wise. Though in the video, it sounds like the “Watermelon Sugar” performer quickly won over fans with his acapella version of “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder. Of course, that would only be the first of many rounds of praise that he would receive from an audience.
The video is enough to make fans nostalgic for One Direction’s beginnings in 2010, but it can also be used to, just for a little bit, move fans away from some of the drama that has surrounded the since broken-up group over this summer. There has been an ongoing feud between Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson and, in a recent interview, Liam Payne mentioned that he was the intended leader of 1D.
Harry Styles, meanwhile, has been busy with his ongoing world tour and preparing for the release the Olivia Wilde-directed thriller, Don’t Worry Darling, in which the performer stars alongside Florence Pugh. The film is just one of a several upcoming projects that Styles has on the docket, and he doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. Of course, he’s playing Marvel’s Eros, who appeared at the end of Eternals.
The singer and actor has obviously come a long way since his X Factor audition, as he’s become way more confident as a performer — and gets plenty of screaming fans at his shows these days. It’s an amazing come-up, to say the least, and I’m sure he doesn’t miss that silent crowd.
If you still can, catch Harry Styles on the road for Love On Tour now! Don’t Worry Darling is set to release on September 23rd as part of CinemaBlend’s 2022 movies schedule. And you can find more reality competition offerings like The X Factor on the 2022 TV schedule.