Even U.K.’s The X Factor has something to say about Liam Payne claiming One Direction was built around him — among other things.
To mark the boy band’s twelfth anniversary, the competition show took a walk down memory lane on YouTube. The video starts with Liam, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson celebrating that they will get to continue on in the talent competition as a group.
The video then shares, for the first time ever, how the group actually formed — and it appears One Direction was built around Niall.
The clip shows all three judges rifling through photos of all the male X Factor competitors and deciding who gets to stay and who gets the boot. Judge Nicole Scherzinger constructs an “imaginary boy band” and slides Niall’s photo to the top of the table in an effort to spare him from elimination.
Harry and Louis are then added as the respective second and third members.
“They’re the cutest boy band ever,” Nicole gushes. “The little girls are gonna love them.” She goes to bat for the three, adding they are “just too talented to get rid of.”
Liam’s photo is then taken out of the slush pile and goes into the lineup, leading Simon Cowell to declare that “He was a standout audition” and should be put through as a solo competitor. Louis and Nicole nix the idea and suggest Louis “can be the leader” because of his confidence.
Zayn is then added as the final member.
Liam sparked fans’ ire when he appeared on the Impaulsive podcast last month and claimed 1D “started with my face,” thus making him the “honorary member of One Direction.”
Thanks to this new video, The X Factor proved Liam’s claims weren’t aligned with reality.
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