Liam enjoyed his time at school
Niall on holiday
Liam singing ‘Cry Me a River’ for his audition
I did alright with my GCSEs, though, and got eight out of 11. I failed Business Studies, History and Geography. But then when it came to my A-levels I did too much messing around. Unless I love something, I’m not great at working hard at it, and I lost interest in my A-levels. Thank god for music!
The all-important audition
Liam: I’d always known I would give The X Factor another go, it was just a case of when. I never, ever gave up the idea of giving it another shot. Some people advised me against it – I think because they were worried that I’d get hurt – but most people were really supportive, which meant the world to me.
It was gutting to get thrown out the first time around. I knew how awful it felt and I didn’t want to have that feeling again, but I was willing to take the risk. I wanted to get through more than anything. I had vocal coaching in-between so I could be at my best.
To me, that second audition was my chance to prove to Simon that I’ve got what it takes. I went there with one aim – to get a yes from him. Of course it also mattered to me what the other judges thought, but I guess because I had history with him I wanted to know that he felt I’d improved and moved on and grown up since he’d last seen me.
I knew that I could do well in the audition because I’d been working so hard, but there’s always that danger that the nerves will get in the way, so the whole thing was pretty terrifying. Dermot calmed my nerves a bit backstage. He’s such a nice friendly guy and when he recognised me, it put me at ease. He said it was nice to see me back, and I said it was nice to be back!
Getting up on stage again was bizarre. I looked out and saw Louis, Cheryl, Simon and guest judge Natalie Imbruglia, and it felt surreal to be back there again. I just wanted to hear what Simon had to say. I really wanted him to say yes, for my parents as much as anything. My dad has always said to me, ‘We’ll get you on that show one day son.’
I sang ‘Cry Me a River’ because I had seen Michael Bublé perform it on TV, and within minutes I was on the internet trying to find a backing track I could practise along to. I wanted to do a really big song.
I got a standing ovation from the audience, which I genuinely wasn’t expecting. I was close to tears when I looked out and saw everyone clapping and cheering. It was so overwhelming. Cheryl said to me, ‘You’ve definitely got it, whatever it is, you’ve got it.’ Then Natalie said, ‘I think other people in this competition should be a little bit worried about you.’
Louis took the mickey out of Simon for not putting me through last time around, but Simon said he knew he’d made the right decision and that he felt I was a different person now. Not surprisingly, all of those comments made me feel very glad that I’d come back.
My family and friends were all waiting backstage, and they leapt on me as I walked down the stage stairs. Dermot gave me a big hug and joked, ‘The boy becomes a man!’ All I could think was, ‘I’ve done it!’ My face was actually hurting because I couldn’t stop smiling. I never expected in my wildest dreams to get that kind of reaction from the judges and audience.
Niall: I’d always known that I wanted to try out for The X Factor. I think anyone in the country who sings wants to give it a go. It’s the biggest talent competition out there, and this year felt like the right time to audition. I want to be like the big names in the world, like Beyoncé and Justin Bieber. I’ve been compared to Justin a few times and it’s a comparison I like! I want to sell out arenas and make an album and work with some of the best artists in the world. I was hoping the audition day would be the start of it all. If I got through to the next round it was game on.
After his first audition, Katy Perry tells Niall he is ‘adorable’
Harry wows Pussycat Doll Nicole with his Stevie Wonder performance
I stayed with my cousin in Dublin the night before the audition but I didn’t sleep I was that excited. I got to the Dublin Convention Centre at 5am and I was absolutely bricking it. There were so many people there, I thought there was no way I was ever going to get through. I even thought of changing my song at the last minute to improve my chances.
I felt so excited getting up on stage and singing in front of the judges, but of course the nerves were still there as well. Katy Perry was the guest judge and I had a bit of a joke with her about entering the competition so I could become more popular with the girls at school. It was half a joke, but half true, if I’m being honest.
I sang Jason Mraz’s ‘I’m Yours’ and Simon said it was a lazy choice, so then I sang my other song, ‘So Sick’ by Ne-Yo. When I’d finished, Katy told me I was adorable, which are always the words you want to hear from a gorgeous, world-famous pop star, aren’t they? But she also told me that I had work to do and that even though she’d started out when she was 15, she hadn’t actually made it until she was 23.
Simon told me I’d chosen the wrong song and I wasn’t prepared enough, but he still said he liked me, which was a massive bonus. Cheryl said no, but in the end I got three ‘yes’ votes because Louis more or less forced one out of Katy. That was enough to put me through to Bootcamp. Of course I would have loved the full four, but as long as I was going on to the next round I didn’t mind too much.
Harry: Standing backstage with Dermot and my family before my audition was so surreal. All my family were giving me good-luck kisses, which was a bit embarrassing. I got some cheers when I walked out on stage, which felt great and made me feel a bit more relaxed.
I smiled and tried to look as confident as possible, but inside I was a right mess. This meant everything to me and I just wanted to do a brilliant job. There were hundreds of people there, but all I could see was Simon, Louis and guest judge Nicole Scherzinger looking up at me and I was like, ‘Please like me, please like me.’
Standing in front of all of those people was something totally new for me and I was really nervous. It was a big adrenaline rush and I think that’s what gets you through the performance – you’re on a bit of a high, so you don’t really have too much of a chance to think about things.
I sang Stevie Wonder’s ‘Isn’t She Lovely’, a song I’ve always loved. I tried out loads of different songs beforehand and then chose the one I thought I sounded best on – which was that one, obviously! I even gave a little bow at the end, which was a bit cheesy, but I thought it would be funny.
Nicole said I had a beautiful voice, which meant so much to me, but Louis said I didn’t have enough experience or confidence and that I was too young. Thankfully Simon disagreed with him and said, ‘I think with a bit of vocal coaching you actually could be very good.’ It was really nice to get the positive feedback. I honestly didn’t expect to get through, so I was chuffed with the good comments.
Louis gave me a ‘no’, which was disappointing, but both Nicole and Simon gave me a ‘yes’, so I was through to Bootcamp. I was in a total state of shock! That was one of the best moments of my life.
My family went mad when I went back to see them. I was so incredibly happy, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I kept expecting someone to come over and say, ‘Actually, we’ve changed our mind, you’re not through after all.’ Can you imagine?
Zayn: I applied for The X Factor last year but didn’t turn up for