Yahoo Lifestyle 14 Years Later, Here’s How Simon Cowell Reflects On Harry Styles’ Iconic “X Factor” Audition
Harry Styles is one of the world’s biggest superstars today, although it apparently took Simon Cowell a moment to see the vision.
As you know, Harry got his big break as a member of the boyband One Direction, which was formed on The X Factor UK in 2010.
Harry and fellow bandmates Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson all initially auditioned as solo acts but were turned away before the “Judges’ Houses” round of Season 7. Fortunately, the five boys were given a second chance when guest judge Nicole Scherzinger prompted Simon to put them into a group.
One Direction, as they were subsequently named, only placed third in the series. However, they won the hearts of the nation and quickly garnered worldwide fame, eventually becoming one of the biggest boybands of all time.
As we now know, Zayn left One Direction in March 2015, and within a few months, it was reported that the remaining members would be taking a break after the release of their fifth album, Made In The A.M., in November of that year.
Since their hiatus, all five original members have gone on to pursue solo music — although Harry has undoubtedly been the most successful.
After releasing his self-titled debut album in 2017, Harry scored Number 1 hit albums with Fine Line in 2019 and Harry’s House in 2022. The latter went on to win Album Of The Year and Best Pop Vocal Album at the Grammys in 2023, and the accompanying tour, Love On Tour, ended its two-year run in July that year, having grossed over $600 million.
In spite of this, Simon — who mentored One Direction on The X Factor and signed them to his record company when the show finished — recalled during this week’s episode of The Diary Of A CEO podcast that he wasn’t initially blown away by Harry’s talent when they first crossed paths 14 years ago.
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“I’m not gonna lie. The first time I met Harry, he sang a Stevie Wonder song, and we spoke about pies,” he said, referring to the fact that, while standing on The X Factor audition stage, then-16-year-old Harry had an extended discussion with Simon about baked goods before he even got to signing.
“I’m not sitting there thinking: ‘You’re gonna become one of the most successful artists in the world in 12 years time,’” he added.
Despite saying that “no one would’ve thought” that Harry was destined for stardom in that first audition, Simon did acknowledge that the teen instantly won over the audience by being “fun” and “unbelievably charismatic.”
“It didn’t work out, in my opinion, for them as solo artists for different reasons in that part of the show,” Simon recalled. “Then, we just had this idea in the moment to put them in a band.”
Looking at how far all the 1D members have come, Simon praised them for using “the group as a vehicle to go where they really want to go in their lives.”
But, as for whether “Harry would be Harry” without ever being in One Direction, Simon said: “All I know is being in the group definitely made it easier.”
You can watch Simon’s full appearance on The Diary Of A CEO podcast here.
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